


Get a Clue

by samwise_baggins



Category: Captain America (Movies), Political Animals, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Anxiety, Arachnophobia, Astraphobia, Character Death, Eating Disorders, Gen, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Insanity, Medical Inaccuracies, Misuse of Prescription Medicine, Trauma, Violence, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:21:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26166319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samwise_baggins/pseuds/samwise_baggins
Summary: The Avengers, a game enthusiast’s group, are at Tony’s mansion for his thirtieth birthday when things take an ominous twist. Someone’s not playing around anymore.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Riley/Sam Wilson, Thomas "T. J." Hammond/Loki (Marvel)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	1. Setting the Stage

**Author's Note:**

> **WARNINGS: Eating Disorder, Astraphobia, Anxiety, Death**  
> .  
> The co-author was Steve-Bucky-Stucky (Chemical30).

Thunder ripped across the sky, lightning flaring brightly, casting an eerie sheen over the darkened landscape. Stark mansion, full of life and laughter, seemed impervious to the heavy storms. Tony Stark had invited his teammates and other friends to celebrate his thirtieth birthday, _‘Storm of the Century’_ be damned, though the majority of guests had left and Tony tried to keep his part going anyway.

Dressed in black gold-shot slacks and a vivid gold, sparkling, button down shirt with bright red and gold belt, complete with a huge T on the buckle, Tony turned to the rest of his guests - - mostly Avengers. Seeing one moving towards the steps, the inventor nearly whined, “aw, Pep, no! Don’t go up yet! ‘S my birfday!”

Turning, halfway to the steps that lead to the upstair rooms, Pepper rolled her eyes though a fond smile graced her perfectly glossed lips, “you have plenty of friends to play with, dear. You know how the storms give me headaches.”

Pouting, Tony glanced over his other friends. He sighed and turned back. “And you’re taking Maria? Aw, damn, we’re gonna be uneven!” He tried to grab for Maria Hill who merely laughed and pulled her hand away, heading up right behind Pepper.

“Goodnight, Tony. Have fun turning thirty.” Maria passed Pepper then grabbed for her hand. “Don’t let him seduce you, Pepper. We need sleep!”

Laughing softly, Pepper linked her arm through Maria’s and said, “goodnight, dear! See you in the morning. Try not to have _too_ much fun!”

A strong, friendly clap came down on Tony’s shoulder. “Tony, my friend! Do not fear! We are all still here to continue the celebrations!” Thor beamed at his friend, half of his blond hair pulled back out of his face while the rest fell down to his broad shoulders. The former model wore a pair of tan slacks with a peach button down dress shirt that complemented his tan skin tone.

Turning a frown upwards to the large Australian man, Tony said, “oh, wha’ a delight, Sunshine.”

Thor just continued to grin his wide smile, “it is!” Looking over at his younger brother, Thor called, “Loki! You are staying, yes? You and TJ do not need to return to your home? Not in this weather!”

Arching a raven-black eyebrow, Loki Laufeyson, adopted brother of Thor Odinson and CEO of Odinson Enterprises, crossed his arms over his chest. Dressed in a dark green button down that set off the ice-green of his eyes, and lighter green trousers, the raven-haired man from London said, “when have I ever been afraid of cold, wet weather, brother?” He stood beside his husband, TJ Laufeyson, formerly Barnes.

“Good, good!” Thor practically cheered, clapping Tony’s shoulder again.

TJ looked up at Loki, leaning into the taller man’s sturdy side. The slighter man wore a soft looking brown jacket with a woodsy shade of grey button down underneath as well as a pair of tan skinny jeans. The lean brunet always made a point to dress very fashionably. “No lightning storm ever scared the great Loki Laufeyson,” TJ teased with a crooked smile.

Loki frowned but didn’t argue, despite knowing that lightening made him _very_ nervous. Instead, he tried to change the subject. “Is your brother leaving, darling?”

Looking over in the direction he last saw Bucky, TJ called out, “Buck! You and Steve staying or are you guys heading out before the weather gets too bad?”

Chuckling, Police Sergeant James _‘Bucky’_ Barnes looked up from the couch he sat on beside his boyfriend. He lifted his glass in salute to his younger brother and called, “why? Afraid I’ll get lost in the dark, Teej?” The silver shirt he wore caught the light and sparkled like diamond dust, off-set by dark grey jeans and calf boots. He sipped his drink, watching the company with lazy, pale blue eyes, looking as relaxed as a well-sunned cat.

Steve Rogers, a history professor, beamed and leaned in to kiss Bucky’s stubbled cheek. The blond’s muscles rippled under the navy blue dress shirt he wore, accompanied by a pair nice, lighter blue jeans. “You look happy, babe. Nice to relax for a weekend, huh?”

“Yeah. I love being in the Avengers. A silly name, still, for a group of friends who get together every weekend to play games and just relax, but I’m not complaining. Tony said he has new games in, too. We can always go check them out?” Bucky turned his head to capture Steve’s lips in a brief kiss, grinning.

“Yeah, Tony,” Natasha Romanov called, a lovely red dress hugging her every curve, matching her bright red lipstick, “when are you going to show us this new game you’ve been going on and on about?” No one knew just what Nat did to earn a living, and no one dared ask.

“I’ve got several,” Tony replied, sipping his drink. “Anyone interested is welcome to join me in the game room. Come along, Avengers. Up off your butts.” He no longer slurred his words, proving he wasn’t as drunk as he’d pretended for his girlfriend, Pepper.

Bruce, a slightly older man with greying brown hair and glasses for reading waved a hand, sipping his own drink. The electrician wore black slacks with a black pullover embroidered in deep green. “Think I’ll enjoy the fireplace and the view of the storm. You’ve got a great window here,” he called, nodding towards the picture window, curtains pulled back to reveal the raging storm.

Loki gave a shudder and turned for the game room; “games are amusing,” he claimed.

Chuckling, Sam, a lean, attractive man with dark skin and a slight gap in his upper front teeth, pulled his own new husband closer. Dressed in an ivory dress shirt and white skinny jeans, the nurse, just off his honeymoon, felt ready to once again join his friends for some games. “Not video games tonight, right, Stark? We’re going old school boards or maybe even RPG’s?”

Riley chuckled softly, leaning against Sam’s chest. The slender blond wore a rose colored sweater with a pair of khaki slacks. “I’ll have to agree with my husband,” the word bringing a smile to the veterinarian lips, “an old school board game sounds pretty fun.”

Tony grinned. “RPG board game videos? Think I can manage that,” he teased and turned to follow the quickly disappearing Loki.

Out of the kitchen strode Clint Barton, purple jeans and metallic maroon shirt catching the light as he carried a large plate of snack foods. Blinking at the group heading out of the living room, the professional dog breeder called, “why the mass exodus? I’m sure if we ask, some guy named Moses can rescue us?”

“Tony wants to show us his new games,” Natasha called back to her boyfriend, “bring the snacks with you!”

Nodding, Clint turned to bring up the rear of the group, tossing a grin at Bruce, who waved them out. Walking into the game room, Clint stopped at the entrance and sighed, frowning. “Hey, Tony, when you gonna fix that anyway?” He asked, balancing the plate.

“Fix? What?” Tony looked over, frowning.

Pointing to the wall decorations, Clint called, “that horseshoe! It’s upside down! You need to put it ends up so the luck doesn’t run out, you dolt!”

Snickering, Tony shook his head and said, “you fix it. I’m gonna play.” He led the friends over to a box on one of the tables and pulled out instructions, beginning to read.

Clint bit into a sandwich and groaned, “damn! Forgot the musta . . .” the lights went out and the sound of the security locks clicked heavily shut to prevent burglars taking advantage of the storm knocking out the power. “What the hell?”

TJ jumped slightly when the lights went out, inadvertently moving closer to Loki as he looked around the darkened space with wide eyes.

Laughing softly, Tony said, “don’t panic, Barton. The generator should kick in. The electric guys will be along in a few hours to fix things and then you can escape. Until then, it’s a party, relax!”

Loki slid his arm securely around TJ, frowning in the lightning-spattered darkness. “Maybe I should go to bed,” he softly stated.

“Got any candles or security lights that run on a separate generator?” Steve called out, reaching out to take Bucky’s hand.

“Sure,” Tony said. “Got flashlights in each room in a drawer. We can play flashlight tag!”

“Oh, goody,” Bucky laughed, not at all bothered by the dark. “I haven’t played that since we were kids. Remember, TJ? I used to kick your ass in flashlight tag until Momma called you inside because of the dark . . . which is the only way to play the game!”

“Yeah . . .” TJ answered, never having been a fan of the dark. He could handle a storm just fine . . . as long as the power stayed on. “Stark, where were those flashlights you mentioned?”

“In the drawer by the door, Teej,” Tony called back. “And there's all kinds of candles everywhere if you’ve got a lighter.”

“I do,” Loki called out. “I have a lighter.”

Natasha, the closest to the drawer by the door, felt around for the piece of furniture. It took a moment before she was able to open the drawer and pull out a few flashlights. Turning them on, she handed them to Sam to start passing out. “Also some candles in here,” she called, pulling out those as well and walking over to the main table set up in the middle of the room. “Loki? Lighter, please?”

A flicker of light came, shining off a silver sleeve, and Bucky grinned as a second light showed a deep green sleeve from slightly further away. Offering Natasha the light, Bucky said, “candle?” Loki shrugged and put his lighter out.

Natasha picked up the candle and brought the wick closer to the flame. She lit five in total, casting the game room in a soft orange glow. “There, now we aren’t all blind. Plus, each couple has a flashlight, right?”

“Couple? Wait, I’m not a couple with Sunshine!” Tony protested, picking up his own candle.

“You can be tonight,” Riley teased with a wide grin.

Thor cheered happily, a deep chuckle coming from the large blond, “aye, Stark! Perhaps Pepper won’t mind sharing for an evening?” He gave Tony’s shoulder a soft bump and a wink.

Tony blinked and looked at his shoulder. “Twice . . .” he said, in a broken manner.

“Twice?” Thor asked, tilting his head.

“Touchy . . . no touchy . . .” Tony choked then downed his drink in one gulp and headed from the game room. “Gonna find a drink. Anyone want some while I’m out?”

Bucky flashed his light on his brother and grinned. “Wanna play flashlight tag, baby?” he used his brother’s old school nickname; the same name TJ had tried to get everyone to stop using once he’d seen _Dirty Dancing_.

Blinking as the light shone in his face, TJ said, “don’t think running around the halls is such a safe idea, Buck.”

“Why? Think a psycho killer got in and is going to knife everyone, Teej?” Bucky laughed. “C’mon, Steve, Hide and Seek? Flashlight Tag? Scary stories by lightning?”

Loki let out a strange gurgle and his candle shook slightly. “Bathroom. Need to relieve myself,” he choked out, sounding much like Tony had.

“Loki?” TJ looked up, worried at his husband’s tone. Then, a sudden realization came over the smaller man, “oh, shit. The lighting! I’m sorry, Loki! I totally forgot it freaks you out!” TJ tossed a quick glare in Bucky’s direction.

Bucky blinked, “it really does? I thought he was just being . . . weird. He’s always doing weird shit.”

Not answering, Loki turned and headed from the room, turning down a different hall than Tony had taken.

“Need mustard,” Clint grumped. “Someone go check on Loki, right? And I’ll try to find the kitchen?” He balanced his loaded plate in two hands, eyeing a candlestick and flashlight dubiously.

“I’ll go after Loki,” TJ answered, glaring at his brother once more before darting out of the room after his husband.

“Here,” Natasha grinned, using her own flashlight to light the way for Clint, “I’ll lead the way.” She started walking out of the room in the direction of the kitchen.

“Now _that’s_ the perfect woman!” Clint called happily. “Not sure which I love more right now, her ass or her flashlight!” He trotted after his sometimes girlfriend, all-times partner.

Bucky sighed, “didn’t know Loki hated storms _that_ much.”

“Aye!” Thor nodded, walking up to Bucky and Steve, “since he was little! Would cry and come into my room every time there was a lighting storm. I do not know where the fear stems from.”

“But Teej doesn’t have to blame _me_. It’s not like I started the storm!” Bucky sighed and headed into the hall with the flashlight.

Sam turned his face down to smile at Riley. “Nooky time?” he whispered.

Grinning, Riley turned in Sam’s arms and let out a pleased little purr, “not quite outta the honeymoon mentality are you?” He kissed his lover’s lips.

Kissing back, Sam said, “could be our golden anniversary and I’ll still be in the honeymoon mentality for you, sweetheart.”

“Think it’s gonna be awhile before everyone is back,” Riley mewled, kissing again. “Think we have time for a quickie?” he purred in Sam’s ear, biting the earlobe gently.

“Yeah, let’s go find the closet or something,” Sam offered, taking a candle. “Grab the flashlight, sweetheart. Let’s go find some privacy.”

Riley did as he was told, grabbing the flashlight and letting Sam lead him out of the room.

Steve blinked, everyone having left the room so quickly that he looked stunned to just see the overly happy Thor the only other person in the room. “Um . . . I’m going to go try and find Bucky . . .” He picked up a candle and then walked out of the living room, calling out, “Buck! Where’d you go?”

In the hallway, Clint passed Steve, grumbling, the flashlight under one arm, balanced precariously as he carried his still loaded plate. “Yo, Steve,” he said, a slight dark patch on his maroon shirt.

“Hey, you see where Bucky went?” Steve asked, turning slightly so he could follow Clint’s movements down the hall.

“Nah, seen Nat? She was supposed to get me mustard, but we got separated when I had to stop the ham and cheese from falling.” Clint shook his head, “this place is a fuckin’ maze!”

“Yeah, Tony really needs to invest in some flood lights or something . . .” Steve said, looking around the darkened hallway with a small frown.

“Floodlights?” Clint snorted, “won’t work without power. When’s that generator supposed to kick in? Or did Tony forget to have his people fill it?” The stocky strawberry-blond walked backwards so he could still talk to Steve.

“Don’t know,” Steve sighed and then said, “Thor’s still in the game room. If you see Bucky, let him know I’m looking for him? And I’ll let Natasha know you’re looking for her.”

“And for the mustard! It’s a crime to eat ham without the stuff, right?” Clint grinned and hit the game room door with his back, spilling his food at last. “Aw, fuck!” he screamed, sinking to his knees to try to salvage any food utilizing the ten second rule.

Wincing in sympathy, knowing how much Clint adored food, Steve hurried over to help Clint salvage as much as they could. After most of the food had been put back on the plate, Steve stood back up and said, “be back with the mustard soon, Clint.” The blond chuckled softly.

“Don’t bother,” Clint grumbled, picking up the destroyed ham slices he’d accidentally stepped on. “Time to bury the hog.”

Steve gently patted Clint’s shoulder before turning and heading back down the hall. The sound of a possible soft sob followed the large blond.

Coming back around the corner with his refilled drink, Tony said, “did I hear Clint fouling my air?” He blinked at the blond on the floor. “Clint? Did you drop my food?”

“The door attacked me from behind,” Clint murmured, sounding near tears. “The door killed the ham!”

“Huh,” Tony shook his head. “Are you sure that’s the last piglet? I coulda sworn there were two more at least. I’ll go find some.”

“No,” Clint sighed and stood up, shakily under his smaller burden. “I’m good. I’ll just eat what I’ve got.”

Steve sighed and shook his head, never having understood Clint’s relationship with food. He continued on his way in search of Bucky. “Buck! Where are you?” Steve called again.

Jumping out of a separate hall and grabbing Steve’s waist, Bucky hissed, “gotcha!”

“Jesus, Buck!” Steve clutched at his chest with his free hand, his heart beat rising with Bucky’s scare. “Did you run outta the room just for a chance to scare me?”

Grinning, Bucky nodded and slid his arms around Steve’s neck, pressing up to him. “Yup,” he emphasized the _‘p’_ sound. “Kiss me?”

Shaking his head, smiling despite Bucky’s joke, Steve pressed his lips to his boyfriend’s, “you thrive on the power going out or what?” He teased against Bucky’s lips.

“Only so I can do naughty, despicable things no one can see,” Bucky laughed. He rubbed one leg up between Steve’s, against his crotch.

Groaning softly, Steve nipped at Bucky’s bottom lip, tugging it gently, “I want to continue this . . . but, should we go make sure Loki is okay? He looked about ready to pass out or vomit. Maybe both.”

“Think he really wants to see me? Teej seems to think I called on Zeus to create this damn storm just to torment his husband. Married people are so damn grumpy.” Bucky backed off, letting his leg drop.

“Well, he’s still young and in that protective stage,” Steve laughed, taking Bucky’s hand and tugging him down the hall.

“Stevie,” Bucky cooed, “if you ever wanna get me in the sack, you can do that without a stupid ring, okay? Those rings make people nuts.” He turned down a different hall, tugging Steve suddenly. “I heard a piano. Think TJ’s trying to sooth his husband?”

Laughing, Steve nodded, letting Bucky tug him in the different direction, “I swear TJ is a piano magnet!”

“Yeah,” Bucky snickered, “any piano in a fifty mile radius comes running to him.” He grinned at Steve and headed into the music room. “And voila, a brother and a husband.” He gestured to the pair playing a duet on the piano.

Hearing his brother, TJ stopped and looked over, “done being an ass, yet?” He called, frowning softly.

“I’ll have you know, TJ, that when I tried to call up this storm, it hung up on me, so it’s not my fault!” Bucky called back.

Rolling his eyes, TJ snapped, “do you always have to be such a jerk?”

Looking stunned, Bucky asked, “and how am I a jerk? All I did was light a candle!”

“You know what?” TJ shook his head, “if you don’t know then you’re an idiot and a jerk.”

“TJ, darling,” Loki murmured to his husband. “It’s okay. It’s just a stupid storm.” He sighed, trying to bury his stupid fears. He’d been afraid since childhood, but wished he could get over it.

“It’s not okay,” TJ said, turning his pale eyes to Loki and then back at Bucky, “he doesn’t even realize he’s done anything wrong! He’s been like that since we were kids!”

“Well, maybe we should start telling him _what_ he’s done wrong so he can fix it?” Loki offered. “I mean, he can’t help being an idiot jerk, can he?”

“Hey!” Bucky growled, smiling at what sounded to him like a joke.

“No, I guess not,” TJ shook his head with a sigh.

“Hey, Buck,” Steve kissed his boyfriend’s neck, “wanna go into the kitchen? See what we can find for some snacks since Clint dropped his plate?”

“Clint?” Loki asked, sounding surprised, “dropped his food? How? I thought it was attached by tentacles or something.”

“Yeah, he was very upset about it,” Steve reported and then tugged Bucky away from the music room, letting TJ and Loki hang out by themselves. “Think Tony said something about having more ham . . .”

Bucky sighed, “what is with him? Does he have a pet tapeworm we should worry about?” He followed his lover from the music room willingly enough.

“Maybe,” Steve chuckled, leading Bucky in the direction of the kitchen. “We’re also looking for Natasha . . . guess she and Clint got separated before he could make it to the kitchen for his mustard.”

“Wouldn’t Nat be in the kitchen with the mustard and extra ham?” Bucky grinned. “Maybe she’ll feed us?”

Chuckling, Steve nodded and then finally made it to the kitchen. The first thing he saw was that Natasha’s flashlight lay on the floor, turned towards the doorway. The second thing was a pool of something dark spreading on the tile on the other side of the large kitchen island. Letting go of Bucky’s hand, Steve frowned, stepping towards the pool on the floor, “Natasha?”

“Nat?” Bucky questioned, pushing the door open wider. He frowned and knelt down to scoop up the flashlight. “Nat? You in here?” He flashed the light on the dark stain.

“Oh my God!” Steve gasped in pure shock when Bucky’s flashlight revealed Natasha on the floor, her emerald eyes staring lifelessly up at the ceiling, a knife plunged deep into her chest, blood staining her red dress, pooling under her body. “Bucky! Call 9-1-1!” Steve ordered, his voice rising in panic. He reached out to try and feel for a pulse point, despite knowing the woman was already dead.

“Nat?” Bucky’s voice dropped to a horrified whisper. He fumbled for his phone and lifted it, blinking at it. “Battery’s dead . . .” Going pale, Bucky looked back at his old friend. “We’ve gotta stop the bleeding, Steve!” Bucky knelt down, reaching for the knife.

“Don’t pull it out!” Steve grabbed at Bucky’s wrist, turning horrified eyes on Bucky. He looked back at Natasha, “oh my God. She’s dead, Buck. What the hell? She’s dead!”

“But . . . who would . . . someone get in?” Bucky stood up, looking near hysterical, eyes roving in the darkened room. Suddenly, the emergency generator kicked in and low lighting filled the rooms and hallways. Bucky groaned at the clearer image of the dead woman on the kitchen floor. “No . . .”

“Wh - - what do we do?” Steve whimpered softly and pulled out his own phone to try to call emergency services. “Shit . . . no service! Must be the fucking storm!” He looked back at Natasha, one of their oldest friends.

“But . . . if someone's here, Steve,” Bucky looked around again. “Someone . . . someone got in and killed Nat?”

“I . . . I don’t know . . .” Steve shook his head, looking over at Bucky, “what do we do? We gotta tell the others . . . oh, God! Clint! Clint’s gonna be hysterical!”

“Yeah, Clint. Might even put down his food for once,” Bucky moaned softly, eyes fastening on Nat’s pale, greying face. “We need to call the cops. Stark’s gotta have a phone somewhere, or a radio or something, right? One of those old timey CB’s the truckers still use?”

“Yeah . . .” Steve shakily stood up and shook his head, running his hands through his blond hair, “get all the others together . . . someone - - oh . . . Natasha . . .” Steve wrung his hands together, “do we cover her with a sheet or something? I - - I can’t . . .” the blond’s skin had paled and he looked nauseous.

“Let’s go,” Bucky turned Steve around and pushed him from the kitchen, back into the hall.

Clint rounded the corner, heading towards the kitchen with his sad plate of food. His metallic maroon shirt and purple pants were stained with something dark as well as food smears and crumbs, probably from his accident.

“Clint - -” Steve grabbed Clint’s bicep, his eyes falling down the smaller man’s form, the dark stains. “Don’t . . .”

“Don’t?” Clint looked surprised. “Generator’s up. Now I can find the place without dropping more food. Need some mustard and some more ham.” He studied both men and frowned, “you look like your pet dog died. What’s wrong?”

Bucky forced back a choking sob and shook his head.

“It - - God, Clint . . . it’s Nat . . .” Steve said, meeting Clint’s eyes.

“Nat?” Clint frowned, looking puzzled. “Nat doesn’t own a dog . . . oh, God! Lucky? My dog Lucky?”

Steve shook his head, letting out a shaky breath, “no, Clint . . .”

“Steve? Bucky? You guys are scaring me.” Clitn shook his head and tried to go to the kitchen once more. “Not in the mood for Bucky’s practical jokes.” Steve let Clint’s arm go, hanging his head and letting out another trembling breath.

“Nat’s dead,” Bucky said in a rush, causing Clint to pause and turn slowly with a frown. Bucky swallowed and ran his hand over his face. “In the kitchen?”

A heartbeat, then two, and Clint turned and pushed into the kitchen then froze, eyes widening. He gurgled in shock and fell to his knees, checking his partner for a pulse. “Tasha?” he whispered.

TJ walked up, coming from the music room with Loki by his side, “what’s happening? We heard some noises?” The younger man looked at both Bucky and Steve and then past them both at the kneeling Clint. “What’s wrong?”

Steve looked up, blue eyes pained and haunted, “it’s . . . God, TJ, it’s Nat . . .” The large blond shuddered and kept TJ back when the younger man tried to push past them. “TJ, you don’t need to see it . . .”

Loki pulled TJ back, out of the kitchen and into an embrace. He seemed strangely calm as he stared at Steve and Bucky. “Anyone call the authorities? Or at least Tony’s security staff?”

Bucky shook his head. “Phones don’t work.”

Rolling his eyes, Loki grumbled, “do I have to do everything?” A loud clap of thunder shook the house and Loki jumped, going very pale. He shuddered and hugged TJ tighter.

TJ looked up at Loki with wide eyes, “something isn’t right . . . why don’t any of our phones work?”

“My battery’s dead?” Bucky murmured. “Steve can’t get reception. Not sure why. Maybe the storm knocked out a transformer or the cell tower or something?”

Looking over at his older brother, TJ frowned softly, “your phone’s dead? Don’t you always make sure that thing is charged?”

“Yeah, but what about your phone? Don’t see you rushing to check it,” Bucky grumped, shuddering as he glanced back into the open kitchen doorway. “We need to at least cover her or something, right?”

“Wait . . . she’s _dead_?” TJ’s eyes went wide and his skin paled, “I thought she was just hurt or something!”

“Tasha?” Clint’s voice sounded lost, mournful.

Shaking his head, TJ pulled out of Loki’s arms and pushed past his older brother and Steve, stopping when he saw the bloodied body of Natasha. With a shudder, TJ turned and hurried back out into the hall, opening the nearest linen closet and pulling out a sheet. TJ walked back into the kitchen.

“No, wait,” Clint stopped him, eyes huge. “Can’t do that. Will disturb any evidence like hair and fingerprints. Gotta call security!” Clint let go of Natasha’s neck and, ignoring the blood on his hand, pulled out his phone. He dialed, apparently getting a signal, and breathlessly said, “yeah? Uh . . . police and emergency?” Pausing to listen, he frowned, “I mean, there’s been a murder at Stark Mansion. Someone killed Natasha! Stabbed her. There’s blood everywhere!” His eyes fell on his partner again, at the object in her hand, and he sobbed, “and she remembered the mustard.”

Swallowing thickly, still clutching the sheet to his chest, TJ walked back out and directly to his husband. He burrowed his face into Loki’s chest, another shudder running down his spine.

Loki began walking TJ back down the hall. “We need to find Stark,” he murmured, cuddling, body trembling with every clap of thunder or slice of light through the windows.

Sighing softly, Steve looked back over his shoulder at Clint, watching the distraught man for a moment before turning his eyes back to Bucky, “we . . . we should go with them?”

Nodding, Bucky asked, “what about Clint?”

“Clint?” Steve called, turning to look back at the other blond, “did you want to go find the others?”

Eyes moving to meet Steve’s, Clint hung up the phone, looking frustrated. “The roads are washed out and flooding’s getting worse out there. The cops can’t get to us.” He sobbed and stood up, head hanging, “and there’s no way to call for pizza.”

Blinking, not understanding how Clint could even be thinking about food at a time like this, Steve sighed and shook his head. Figuring that Clint was just going into a state of shock, Steve walked back into the kitchen and wrapped a strong arm around Clint’s shoulders to start guiding the man out, away from his dead girlfriend. Glancing over at Bucky, blue eyes worried and scared, Steve headed back to the game room, hoping that everyone had met back there by then.

Once they reached the game room, Bucky sat down close to TJ and Loki, staring out the window. Loki sat shuddering at the storm, wrapped in TJ’s embrace, his own arms around his husband. Clint looked up as Steve guided him in, noting that Sam and Riley were coming in from their _nooky time_ , Tony right behind them looking disgusted. With a soft sob, Clint looked right at Thor and said, “we’re not allowed to go into the kitchen for anything.” He raised a bloody hand and nodded, “even if we’re hungry.” Wiping a hand across his eyes, he added, “oh, and Tasha’s dead. My beautiful Tasha.”

Frowning, Thor looked at the others in the room, before finally meeting Clint’s eyes again, “is this one of those stories Bucky was talking about?”

“Story?” Clint lifted his eyes looking horrified. “You think this is a fairy story or something? That somehow Natasha’s gonna pull the knife out of her chest and waltz in here, laughing? That all that blood is just gonna clean itself up?”

“Wait!” Riley looked at Sam and then Clint, “Nat’s dead? How - - why haven’t we called the police yet?”

“Yeah,” Clint snapped, “she’d dead. Dead as a can of _Spam_! And I _did_ call the fuckin’ cops!”

“Are they coming? How - - who would’ve . . . it’s only _us_ in the house! And a few others upstairs sleeping?” Riley stammered, blue eyes horrified.

“And the servants,” Tony added, “oh, and Bruce. He’s here.”

“Roads flooded and washed out,” Clint said, turning for the sideboard and the liquor.

“Do - - do you really think you should be drinking right now?” TJ asked softly, looking over at Clint sympathetically.

“I’ve gotta do something! I’m starving, and Tony lives off booze. Maybe I can, too?” Clint responded.

“Someone killed Natasha, Clint. That someone is probably still in here! All of Tony’s doors locked, remember? Getting drunk is dangerous!” TJ tried again. The thin brunet was the youngest of the group by a few years; the only reason he had ever been a part of this group of friends was because he’d refused to leave Bucky alone when they were kids.

“Not getting drunk,” Clint mourned, “filling my belly so I don’t throw up. I’ve got to eat regularly or I get sick. You guys _know_ that.”

“We’ve got an emergency pantry you can raid, Clint,” Tony offered, taking his liquor from the other man and sipping it himself. “Go, enjoy, stuff yourself silly.” With a groan, Clint hurried out of the room once more.

“I think most of you are missing the point, here,” Loki growled. “Natasha was alive when the locks secured us all in. The servants are in the servant’s quarters, which is a different building. Which means, only us, Bruce, Pepper, and Maria are here.”

“And whoever killed Natasha,” Sam said softly, frowning, looking agitated and nervous. “Are any of the security systems hooked to this emergency generator supply, Tony?”

Tony shook his head and sighed, swirling the liquid in his glass. “Nope, Jarvis never switched it over. Was going to next week when he found time.”

“Well, the killer probably snuck in before the power went out and hid!” TJ said.

“Or,” Sam said, “when everyone was leaving, the killer hid instead of leaving? Could it be one of Tony’s guests?”

“Which one?” Tony asked. “Most of those people are rich, upstanding citizens. Which do you think it is? Stan? He’s a bit shady, I’ll admit.”

“I doubt a ninety something year old man killed Natasha,” Steve frowned, standing next to Bucky.

“Wait . . .” Bucky looked around. “There are three other people we know of in the house, right? We should check to see if they’re dead or not.”

A shudder ran through TJ’s body again and he worried at his bottom lip, “you think the person killed Maria, Pepper, and Bruce, too?”

“Well, maybe Maria and Pepper?” Bucky offered. “I mean, Bruce is odd man out, isn’t he? Normally serial killers have a theme they go for.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Riley shook his head, “you’re saying you think this . . . killer may be going after the women or something?”

“Maybe,” Bucky said, “I mean, don’t most serial killers?”

“Why are you saying serial? Only one person we know of is dead,” Riley questioned with a soft frown, hugging himself.

“What other kind of killer sneaks into a house party, waits for the electricity to go out, kills the sexiest woman available, and doesn’t rob her of that wonderful expensive ruby and diamond set she’s wearing?” Bucky threw his hands in the air. “I think we should check on the other two ladies in the house.”

“Okay,” Steve slowly nodded, agreeing, “let’s go check on Pepper and Maria, see if we can find Bruce?”

Tony nodded. “I’ll go check on getting the security monitors up, okay? Someone check on my girlfriend! Bruce was in the living room.”

“We can go check Bruce?” Riley offered, looking up at Sam.

Nodding, Sam took his new husband’s hand. “We’ll find Bruce,” he agreed. He led Riley from the room.

“I shall go check on Ms. Hill!” Thor offered, heading towards the door.

Loki stood and pulled TJ to his feet. “We claim Pepper. I know how to wake her without getting a high heel in the forehead.” He guided TJ from the room, following Thor down towards the front steps and up them.

Bucky sighed and looked at Steve. “Maybe it’s not safe to be alone? I’ll go see if I can . . . hey! Where’d Clint go?” Bucky whirled around.

Blinking, Steve looked around the mostly empty game room, “maybe he went to go get some food from the pantry that Tony mentioned?”

Sighing, Bucky said, “I’ll go find Clint. You go help Tony if you can. The idiot went off by himself.” He brandished his flashlight, now off, and headed towards the pantry.

“Uh . . .” Steve watched his boyfriend’s retreating figure and said, even though Bucky wouldn’t be able to hear him now, “I love you, too!” Shaking himself, Steve looked around the room once more before stepping out into the hall.

TJ stayed close to Loki’s side as his older husband lead him down the hall and up the stairs. “I . . . I can’t believe Nat’s dead! I mean, what the hell? Who . . . who could’ve killed her?”

Loki paused and cuddled TJ to him, shaking his head. “I’m not sure, Teej. What kind of person kills anyone?”

“But . . . it means that whoever killed her is still . . . in the house?” TJ let out a small, scared noise, “I - - I . . . I wish we could leave . . .”

“I wish we could all leave,” Loki agreed on a sigh. “Once Tony gets the cameras running, we can see who doesn’t belong in the house. Then we’ll have a pretty good idea of who did it.”

As Thor went down the opposite hall to Maria’s guest room, TJ and Loki went in the direction of the large master bedroom that Pepper and Tony shared. When they got closer to the door, they could hear the sound of a shower running. Looking up at Loki, the younger man said, “sounds like she is taking a shower . . . so, she’s okay, right?”

Loki nodded his agreement. “I would think so. We should warn her what’s happening and have her join the group for safety, though.” The raven-haired man knocked on the bedroom door loudly, calling, “Pepper? We’re coming in. It’s an emergency!” He pushed open the bedroom door and glanced towards the closed bathroom door.

When no answer came from Pepper, just the continued sound of a steady spray of water, TJ worried at his bottom lip, “she . . . probably couldn’t hear you . . .”

Sighing, Loki walked over to the bathroom and knocked, calling, “it’s an emergency. We’re coming in, Pepper!” He found the door unlocked so opened it and walked over to the shower. “Pepper?” Water streamed out from under the stall door as if something blocked the drains.

When Loki opened the shower door, TJ gasped in horror at the sight of Pepper face down in the water, body completely still and very pale. “Shit . . . Loki, is she . . .” The young man felt like he was about to get sick, swaying slightly.

Loki knelt down and checked for a pulse then hung his head. He turned off the shower but didn’t move Pepper. Looking around, a helpless look in his eyes, Loki said, “two bathrobes? Who else was in here?” He’d actually hoped it was a slip and fall death, but it didn’t seem like that.

“Wasn’t . . . wasn’t Tony. Only two people were Maria and Bruce,” TJ answered, one hand latching out to grip the counter to keep himself upright. “Oh my God . . . Bucky was right. A serial killer is in the house! Killing everyone!” The young man sounded panicked, terrified.

“TJ, calm down, darling. Serial killers use the same method over and over. This is a drowning, very possibly accidental. The other was a stabbing. We should be wary of people with knives, not people near the shower?” Loki sighed, knowing he sounded like an idiot, but what could he do? The situation was twisted. “Look, we need to call the police and let them know that it’s now two bodies. And we should figure out who might have had time to do this if it wasn’t an accident. I mean, was anyone alone long enough to hurt Pepper _and_ Nat?”

Eyes widening, TJ let out a whimper, “you think it’s one of our _friends_?” The brunet’s eyes were locked on the body in the shower.

Pulling TJ away from the shower, Loki guided his husband from the bathroom and bedroom. “I don’t think it was a friend, but we can certainly narrow things down to keep us sane and busy, can’t we? Besides, the cops will want to know if anyone could have had time to do it.”

In the hall, Thor approached the pair, looking stunned and mournful, “Maria . . . she’s dead. A pillow over her face . . .”

TJ let out a distressed keen, “someone _is_ picking all of us off!”

“TJ,” Loki cuddled his husband, burying TJ’s face in his shoulder. “Whoever it is had to have time to kill all three women. Plus run up and down stairs and hide any water or blood on him, right? Well, we know some things to look for.” He looked at his older brother. “We should rejoin the others. Now.”

Nodding his agreement, Thor lead his younger brother and TJ back down the hall and stairs, looking for any of the others. Seeing Sam and Riley, Thor called, “have you found Bruce?” The large man’s voice, normally very happy, trembled with the shock of finding Maria dead.

Sam nodded, “sleeping on the couch in the living room. I checked and accidentally woke him up,” Sam sounded relieved.

“P - - Pepper and Maria . . . are both . . . dead,” TJ managed to choke out, still on the verge of passing out or puking.

“I’m getting TJ a _Valium_ ,” Loki insisted, heading back towards the game room, guiding his husband.

With a deep frown, Sam asked, “how many killers are there?”

“I don’t know,” Thor blinked, shaking himself.

“So, all three of the women first? What the hell?” Riley breathed out, his voice a horrified whisper.

“We need to regroup. That way we can make sure no one is killed or killing. I mean,” Sam ran a hand through his short black curls, “if we’re all together, no one can slip off and do that, right? Then we’ll _know_ it’s some stranger who slipped in?”

“I agree,” Thor nodded, looking in the direction of the game room, “we must find Tony, Steve, Bucky, and Clint. TJ and Loki went back to the game room. We should all meet back there. You said Bruce was in the living room sleeping?”

“Until we woke him up, yeah,” Sam agreed. “Now he’s sitting up and watching the storm again.”

“Okay, we go to Bruce first, then the lab for Tony and hopefully along the way find Bucky, Steve, and Clint?” Thor suggested, running his large hand through his hair.

“Clint probably went for food, knowing him. Tony said something about a pantry?” Sam looked at Riley, rubbing his husband’s back.

“So, we get Clint on the way to the lab?” Riley offered, meeting Sam’s eyes.

“Yeah, good idea,” Sam agreed. “Come on, Thor, tell Bruce to join us and why. I don’t think we actually mentioned his ex-girlfriend’s death to him.” Wincing at how callous that sounded, Sam turned back towards the living room.

Riley and Thor followed Sam to the living room. Once in there, Thor called, “Bruce! My friend, we must head to the game room.”

Turning in his seat, Bruce sighed. “What can a guy do to get some alone time in this place?” He stood and, snatching up his half finished bottle of red wine, walked over to the trio.

“Natasha, Maria, and Pepper have been killed, Bruce, we must group together to keep each other safe,” Thor answered, a small frown on his handsome features, still in a state of shock after finding Maria.

“Wait, what?” Bruce’s eyes grew large and his skin took a slightly greenish pale cast. “What?” he repeated.

“Natasha was killed in the kitchen, then when Thor, TJ, and Loki went to check on the other two women . . . Maria and Pepper were already dead . . .” Riley reported with a soft, scared voice.

“Killed?” Bruce shook his head, unable to comprehend the words. “Already dead? Did they get food poisoning? How can three women be dead?”

“Natasha was stabbed, Bruce,” Riley answered, shaking his head.

“And Maria was suffocated . . . from what I gathered from my brother . . . Pepper was in the shower?” Thor added, crossing his large arms over his chest.

“Pepper drown in the shower? Did she fall and hit her head? Are we sure she’s not just unconscious?” Bruce turned towards the steps.

“Loki already checked on her, Bruce. My brother would not leave her if she lived,” Thor called after the other man, turning to follow him.

“Look, Bruce, we need to get everyone together. We think someone might have snuck in before the house secured with the main power outage!” Sam called.

Stopping mid step, Bruce’s shoulders slumped and he nodded, turning around. “Okay. We find everyone and sort this out. Anyone call the authorities?”

“Clint got through to them,” Riley answered, pulling out his own phone, “but mine has no service, same with Steve’s. The storm has knocked out cell towers or something.”

“How the hell did _Clint_ get through then?” Bruce frowned, looking puzzled. “Okay, I’m going to go to the security lab and see what I can do. Does anyone wanna be my shadow?”


	2. It Keeps On Rolling On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **WARNINGS: Death, Anxiety Disorder, Eating Disorder, Referenced Vomiting, Misuse of Prescription Medicine, References Drug Use, Murder**  
> .  
> Steve-Bucky-Stucky (Chemical30) co-authored this story

Steve finally made his way to the lab, having forgotten how to get there since he didn’t visit Tony’s lab very often. At the door, the large blond knocked on the doorframe, though the door was open, and announced his arrival, “Tony? Need any help with getting those security systems up?”

No answer came from the room, though a faint crackling sound, as if radio static, came from the room.

“Tony?” Steve called again, frowning in worry as he stepped into the lab, looking around for his friend. “C’mon, man, this isn’t funny if you’re trying to scare me . . .”

The sound came from an actual old-fashioned radio attached to a Citizen’s Band radio, known more commonly as a CB radio. The CB station wasn’t on a viable channel, thus the static. Tony sat in his chair, slumped over the desk, head in his arms. Beside him lay a wrench, stained dark red with rust or hydraulic fluid or something. Before him was the security console, opened and half the wires un-soldered. A soldering iron sat, warm, on a ceramic plate nearby.

Steve paled a shade and his stomach dropped, “Tony? Please . . . please be sleeping . . .” The large blond slowly made his way over to his slumped over friend, eying the wrench on the table. The closer he got, the more and more it was clear that what covered the wrench wasn’t hydraulic fluid . . . it was blood. “Tony!” Steve called again, reaching out to try and feel for any signs of life from the inventor.

At Steve’s touch, Tony’s body shifted slightly and his head rolled to the side, eyes wide and staring. A huge gash marked the back of his head with thick clotted blood over his hair and scalp . . . a wound so deep and destructive, bone chips could be seen in the wound and even in his hair.

Staggering back, Steve put a hand over his mouth, willing himself not to get sick. Tony was _dead_ , just like Natasha. Someone was picking off members of their group! “Oh . . . oh, fuck,” Steve shook his head, forcing his body to turn away from the bloody scene. He gripped the counter near the door to keep himself upright. The large blond shut his eyes and tried to take deep breaths in order to get himself calmed down.

“Hey, Tony,” Bruce called out, his steps sounding louder as he approached. “Gonna help you with the security system.” He sounded a bit wary, as if he knew there was bad news and didn’t know how to face it.

Looking up, forcing his eyes open, Steve let out a shaky breath and straightened out. He looked to the doorway and when the others showed up, Steve murmured, “Tony . . . he - - he was like that . . . when I got here . . .”

Sam froze, right behind Bruce, and didn’t follow when the older man strode into the room and up to their friend’s body. He checked for a pulse and shook his head, turning his frown on Steve. “Did you hear anything? See anything? Hell, _smell_ anything unusual?”

“No! All I heard was that - - that radio!” Steve answered, running a hand through his short blond hair, “what the hell is going on?”

Softly, Sam called out, “that makes four.”

“ _Four_?” Steve whirled around to meet Sam’s eyes, “it’s only . . . there’s only Nat and Tony . . . right?”

“TJ and Loki found Pepper, and Thor,” Sam gestured to the big blond, “found Maria.” Taking Riley’s hand again, Sam said, “we need to get the group back together.”

“Jesus Christ . . .” Steve murmured, skin ashen and hands trembling, “how . . . why?”

Riley looked over at Bruce, “Bruce? We need to get back to the game room with the others. There . . . there is nothing we can do for Tony, right?” 

Swallowing, Bruce reached over his friend’s body and began working on twisting wires together, jury-rigging rather than the more time consuming soldering Tony had been doing. “I’m going to get this working so we can open the damn doors.” He growled.

Shaking himself, Thor tore his eyes from Tony’s slumped body and stepped past Steve, getting closer to Bruce, “is there anything I can do to help you, Bruce?”

“Yeah, you can. Find our stragglers and get them back to the game room. Tony’s gonna be the last. We’ll stop this abstard.” Bruce sounded angry as he worked, having to verify his connections with an open schematic near Tony’s left hand.

Sighing, Thor nodded, turning back towards the doorway, “we just need to find Clint and Bucky.”

Sam nodded. "Shouldn't someone stay with him? Just in case?"

“I’ll be fine. Just shut the door behind me. Only someone with the code could get in,” Bruce answered, still working, eyes intense.

Nodding, Steve patted Thor’s shoulder as both blonds turned, almost out of the lab. Sam sighed and tugged Riley with them, following the two bigger men. He turned to his own blond husband and said, “who’s odd man out now?” The joke fell flat.

Shuddering, Riley shook his head, pushing up closer to Sam, “this whole thing is fucked up. Someone is toying with us.”

“Hey, hey,” Sam called to the other two, “are we doing some kinda mystery game and I haven’t been told? This is . .. bizarre,” he fell silent, blinking in surprise when Clint came out of a side hall with another loaded plate, this time with dry goods like crackers and jelly.

Clink looked at them and frowned, Bucky coming up right behind him, holding a sandwich he’d apparently made. Flushing a bit, Bucky said, “low blood sugar . . .” and offered it to Steve.

Shaking his head, going a bit paler at the sight of food, Steve managed to choke out, “Tony . . . Pepper . . . Maria . . . all dead.”

Bucky froze, pale blue eyes widening. He dropped the sandwich as Clint ground and bent to retrieve it. Bucky shook his head, “what? No . . . that can’t be right. Only Nat!”

Shaking his head, Thor called, “it is true, Bucky. I saw Maria with my own eyes. Your brother and Loki found Pepper . . . and - - and we just found Tony in the lab . . . Bruce is working on getting the security up . . . so we can try to get out of here . . . get help.”

“But he can’t be alone . . .” Bucky’s quick mind started spinning through scenarios. “He’s not safe alone! What if someone stabs him, too?”

“He’s in the lab, Buck. The door secures and only the people who know the codes can get in now,” Steve reassured his boyfriend.

“Only people . . . Steve, that means no one can get in to help him!” Bucky grabbed his lover’s arm. “Only Tony and Pepper have those codes!”

“Also means no one can get in to hurt him,” Steve pointed out, watching Bucky closely.

“And how will he get out?” Bucky whispered.

“Bruce is working on the security . . . he’ll probably be able to override the door codes,” Steve answered with a worried frown.

“Think he can get the monitors running and the scans?” Bucky asked, sounding a bit calmer with that assurance. “Then we can find the bastard doing this!”

“Exactly,” Thor nodded, reaching out to squeeze Bucky’s shoulder reassuringly, “we should get back to the game room. Your brother was . . . wasn’t doing good, Bucky.”

Groaning, Bucky said, “I hope Loki brought TJ’s _Valium_!” He turned and strode towards the game room, grabbing Thor in passing to drag the larger man with him. “Buddy system, people,” he called out.

The group made their way back to the game room, where they could see TJ on the floor, his head between his knees and rocking slightly. This was a way the younger man used to calm himself down. Bucky let go of Thor and went over to sink down beside his brother. Wrapping an arm around him, Bucky hugged TJ close. “Did you take your pill, baby?” he crooned.

Whimpering softly, TJ nodded, keeping his face buried between his knees, letting Bucky hug him, “yeah . . .” a shudder ran through TJ’s body, “Maria . . . and - - and Pepper, Bucky . . .”

“Yeah,” Bucky’s voice sounded sad. “Bruce is trying to fix security right now, okay, baby? We’ll get out soon.”

“B - - Bruce?” TJ slowly lifted his head, pale eyes searching Bucky’s face, “but . . . wasn’t Tony doing that?”

“Well, yeah, originally,” Bucky sighed and ran a hand over his own brown curls. “But Steve . . . uh found . . . Tony?”

Eyes widening, TJ looked up at Steve and then at Loki, “Tony is . . . oh, God!” The thin brunet scurried up off the floor and luckily made it to the wastebasket before throwing up. 

Bucky grimaced and sat back on his ass.

Loki frowned. “Didn’t Steve also find Natasha?” he asked slowly.

Bucky’s head shot up and he glared at Loki. “What the fuck? Are you accusing Steve of this shit?”

Loki spread his hands in a helpless gesture and shrugged.

As TJ groaned softly, body heaving as he threw up nothing but bile, Steve frowned fiercely and met Loki’s eyes. “I didn’t kill my _friends_!” The large blond couldn’t believe Loki actually thought he was capable of such a thing.

“I did not say you had,” Loki assured the large man. He held up a bottle of pills. “I was wondering, with such horrible scenes, if you, too, wanted some _Valium_?”

“You’re an asshole, Loki,” Bucky growled. “You should be next!”

“Woah!” Riley called out, stepping forward, placing himself between Loki and Bucky, “we need to calm the fuck down, right now! This is the last thing we need! We need to work as a team, not shout and make accusations!”

“Yeah?” Bucky growled, “convenient fear of storms to hide behind, huh? Run off alone, pretending to cower in the dark . . .” Bucky shook his head, “looks fine now, though, despite the storm.”

TJ whimpered, head still over the wastebasket, and murmured, shakily, “L - - Loki has never been . . . alone . . .”

Loki nodded in agreement, smiling gently. “I’ve had three.”

“You took three _Valium_? Isn’t that dangerous?” Steve balked, eyes wide as he looked at Loki.

With a shrug, Loki said, “I’ve had as much before. I’ll be fine.” He held up the bottle. “It’s _my_ prescription after all. TJ’s is back home on the dresser. We forgot it.” He looked over at his husband. “And he’ll need another dose now he’s thrown up the other pill.”

Steve blinked, looking at TJ and then back down at Bucky, “look, Buck, Riley is right. We need to work together. If we start shouting out accusations then we’ll just make ourselves easier targets.”

Crossing his arms, glaring at Loki, Bucky said, “he started it by calling you a killer, Steve. I don’t think he has the right to accuse the most honest guy we know of this shit! No one here would kill any of our friends!” He hung his head, “I . . . I actually trust everyone in this room . . . and Bruce. I trust Bruce, too. None of us are killers.”

“I still feel like we shouldn’t be leaving Bruce alone . . .” Riley commented softly with a sigh.

With another sigh, Bucky pushed up to his feet. “Want me to see if maybe he knows the code and can let me in? I can try to help him.”

“Not alone . . .” TJ groaned, falling back on his ass, leaning back against the cupboard that held all of Tony’s board games.

“Right, of course now. Buddy system,” Buckya greed. “Who’s my buddy?” He looked around at the group, eyes settling on Steve.

“Yeah, I’ll go with you,” Steve confirmed with a nod.

Bucky smiled at his boyfriend then glanced at Loki. “Oh, and if you find me dead, then you have my permission to blame Steve.” He took his boyfriend’s hand and tugged him from the room.

The sounds of TJ dry heaving followed the two older men as they walked down the hall. 

Clint stood in the hall, leaning against the wall, plate in his one hand and sandwich in his other. He looked sick. “Can’t eat with . . . is he really gonna keep getting sick?”

“He’s overwhelmed,” Steve answered with a worried frown, glancing back in the direction of the game room.

With a nod, Clint slid down the wall, very visible in the open game room door, and took another bite of his snack. “Yeah, guess so. Overwhelmed. Natasha . . .”

Wincing, Steve sighed softly and gently patted Clint’s shoulder, offering a sympathetic look, “we’re going to find who took her from you, Clint . . .”

Nodding, Clint looked up, his eyes bloodshot and swollen. “Yeah, and the bastard will regret ever looking at her! You guys go get the security up.”

Steve nodded and then started walking with Bucky down the hall. “Clint’s a wreck . . .” he murmured to his boyfriend.

Bucky nodded, looking grim. “Yeah. Maybe _he_ needs some _Valium_ , too?”

“Don’t think we should be doping everyone up on anxiety medication,” Steve sighed, running his hand through his hair and down to his neck. “Though, it did seem to help Loki . . . TJ, not so much.”

Giving a snort, Bucky said, “that’s because Loki’s on a minor dose. TJ’s dose is three times the strength.”

Blinking in surprise, Steve looked over at Bucky, “shit, really? I didn’t know TJ’s anxiety was that bad . . .”

“Yeah,” Bucky shrugged. “He’s been on meds since he was a teen. Mom used to give him hers to calm him before tests at school.” Bucky shook his head and met Steve’s eyes. “I think he’d be a lot less anxious if he’d learned to deal with the tests instead of Mom doping him. Mom was an idiot.”

“She was just doing what she thought was right, Buck,” Steve answered softly, “TJ always got nervous for tests? Like at school?”

“Yeah, Mom was doing what’s right, my ass, Stevie. She didn’t take him to a doctor or anything. No stress relief classes or meditation. Instead, _‘hey, let’s just pop some pills, right?’_ ” Bucky sounded disgusted.

Wincing, Steve sighed and nodded, “well, hopefully with Loki’s help . . . he’ll get better?” They rounded the corner to the hall that lead to the lab.

“Loki? _Loki_ pops pills as much as Mom ever did. I think that’s how him and Teej hooked up. I’m surprised that lighter’s not for crack,” Bucky growled out.

“Oh, c’mon, Buck,” Steve shook his head, “Loki isn’t a druggie. And TJ has always been a good boy, he wouldn’t go looking for street drugs.”

“Okay, TJ might not be corrupt, but Loki isn’t an angel, Steve,” Bucky stopped walking and turned to face his boyfriend. “Why the lighter? Loki _vapes_.”

“I don’t know . . .” Steve blinked, trying to think that over, “some people carry lighters, right? In case they need them? Do you really think Loki is doing _drugs_?”

“I don’t know,” Bucky threw his hands into the air. “The guy is a bad influence, I swear.”

“I mean, look at _you_ , Buck,” Steve said.

“Me?” Bucky frowned.

“Yeah, you carry a lighter and you don’t smoke. I know it’s because you used to smoke but feel weird not carrying a lighter, now. It’s probably something like that,” Steve assured his boyfriend, “you’ve never liked Loki . . . ever since middle school when he and Thor moved over from Australia.”

“England,” Bucky corrected absently. “Thor’s family moved to London when he was two and adopted Loki.”

“Besides,” Steve chuckled softly, pulling Bucky in for a hug and kissing his forehead, “I know why you’re doing this . . .”

“Doing what? What am I doing?” Bucky frowned and pulled away from Steve.

“You’ve _never_ approved of TJ’s boyfriends,” Steve smiled softly, kissing Steve’s lips, “that’s why you’re trying to dig and find something on Loki to use against him.”

Sighing, Bucky leaned into Steve’s kiss and breathed out, “yeah,” he said, reluctantly. “I don’t trust him. I don’t want him hurting TJ.”

“Loki worships the ground TJ walks on, Buck, he cherishes him,” Steve ran his hands up and down Bucky’s spine.

“And drugs him every chance he gets,” muttered Bucky. “I’m surprised TJ isn’t vaping, too. He’s a follower, so kind and gentle and trusting. God, he’d follow someone off a cliff.”

Pulling back so he could cup Bucky’s face between his palms, Steve met Bucky’s eyes, “and you’re worried because TJ isn’t following you anymore. It’s okay, Bucky, it’s completely normal.”

Sighing, Bucky shook his head. “Can’t see it as okay to have TJ following some dope-ass druggie.” He pulled away again. “Let’s go save Bruce from himself.”

“Okay, babe,” Steve managed to kiss Bucky’s temple before grabbing his boyfriend’s hand and walking the rest of the way down the hall to the lab where Bruce had locked himself in.

Walking up to the lab door, Bucky knocked on the hard surface. “Little pig, little pig, let me in!” he called, sounding more worried than playful. Glancing at Steve, Bucky shrugged and looked puzzled. “Hey, Bruce. Steve and Bucky here. We’re here to help fix this place so we can get outta here!”

When no one answered, Steve swallowed thickly, calling, “Bruce! I know you’re busy but can you let us in?”

“You know. He might hear _you_ ,” Bucky worried his bottom lip, much like his brother.

Shaking his head, Steve decided to try the door and was shocked to find it opened; the security lock must have been out with the power. Steve’s eyes widened and his whole body froze at the sight of Bruce, on the floor, clothes smoldering. 

“Bruce?” Bucky drew in a shocked gasp and pushed into the room. “No!” He ran in and skidded to a stop, kneeling, beside the older man. Bucky moved his hands around in the air as if trying to decide where to touch Bruce but afraid to. “Is . . . is he still touching a live wire or something?”

Rushing over after shaking away the shock, Steve helped Bucky look for any potential hazards that could cause them harm, “no . . . I - - I don’t see anything . . .” The blond looked down at Bruce’s face, “he - - he . . . dammit! He’s dead!”

Finally reaching out, Bucky gingerly laid a hand on Bruce’s arm then relaxed a bit as no shock came. He felt for a pulse and shook his head. “Nothing, Stevie,” Bucky whimpered.

“Wh - - what the hell, Buck? What the hell is going on? Why is someone . . . why is someone killing all of our friends?” Steve turned horrified eyes on his lover.

“This . . . this could have been accidental,” Bucky mourned, reaching for Steve’s hand, shuffling a bit away from the body on the floor and the one on the nearby stool. “I mean . . . electricity . . .?”

“But . . . Tony, Nat, Pepper . . . Maria? Now, Bruce?” Steve shook his head, “no . . . this isn’t coincidental! Someone trapped us in here and is taking us out one by one!”

Bucky suddenly shot to his feet and slipped into a shock resistant bracelet that neither Tony or Bruce had worn. He grounded the bracelet to the shock resistant mat on the table and began working on the wires as quick as he could. “I’m getting us the fuck out of here!” A soft fizzing pop came and smoke trailed from the security system. “Fuck!”

“What? What is it?” Steve asked, eyes wide.

“Fucking crosswired! Someone connected that red one funny!” Bucky hadn’t even touched a red one. He shook with impotent rage and backed off, turning to hug Steve around the waist. “We’re like lab rats, waiting to be slaughtered.”

“We . . . we just have to wait out the storm. Clint got through to the police . . . they’ll come for us when they can get here . . .” Steve sounded like he tried to reassure himself as his strong arms wrapped around Bucky, “if we just stay together . . . we should be okay. We have to get back to the game room.”

Bucky nodded then shook his head then nodded again, trembling. “Yeah. Get back to the others,” he whispered. “Maybe take some of Loki’s pills.”

“C’mon,” Steve said, taking Bucky’s hand and tugging him out of the room, back towards the game room.

As the pair walked from the security area, Loki managed to get three more pills into his nervous husband. “There, darling. That will help. I promise,” he coaxed.

TJ whimpered softly, letting Loki help him take the pills with a sip of water. The brunet’s skin was flushed and sheened with a thin layer of sweat from all the retching. “We - - we’re all going to die . . . what - - why is someone doing this?”

“No, darling, no, we’ll make it through,” Loki slipped his arms around his husband and hugged him close, his heartbeat slow and steady. “We’ll figure out who it is. All we have to do is everyone stay in the same room.”

Letting out a soft sob, TJ curled into Loki’s body, “I wanna go home. Shoulda never come to this stupid party.”

“But, Darling, how could we refuse when all our friends came, too? Every single person here was at our wedding, TJ. We couldn’t skip Tony’s big day.” Loki began stroking TJ’s brunet curls, softly carding through them. He dropped small kisses on his husband’s face and temple and cheeks and even eyelids.

“They’re all dead now . . .” TJ murmured, his body heaving with another dry heave but luckily he managed to keep from throwing up the pills Loki had given him.

Not saying anything to that, Loki cupped the side of TJ’s head and held his husband close to his heart. ‘My precious darling,” he murmured.

Riley looked over as Bucky and Steve came back into the room, “where . . . where’s Bruce?” He asked softly, fearing the answer he’d get.

Bucky shook his head, “system’s fried. Crosswired.”

TJ let out sob at the news that another friend was gone. He buried his face tighter against Loki’s chest.

Slowly, Bucky headed to the pool table and sat on the bumper, looking shell shocked more than anything. “No one’s gonna leave without a buddy, okay?” he asked softly.

Thor nodded, looking shocked and mournful, “we must protect one another! We must hold out until the police arrive!”

“But Clint said the roads were flooded,” Bucky answered, grabbing the cue ball and beginning to roll it back and forth slowly.

“Floods will ease with time, my friend,” Thor assured the other man.

Looking up, the ball rolling out of his grasp, Bucky whined, “but we don’t have time, do we? Some freakin’ nutball is running around offing the only friends I ever had!”

Letting out a low whimpering whine, TJ heaved in Loki’s embrace again, his stomach coiled in tight knots that made him extremely nauseous.

“If we stay together,” Steve said, looking at Bucky, “there is a less of a chance the murderer will strike. There are eight of us and one of him or her.”

Nodding, Bucky grabbed another ball, the orange striped thirteen ball, and began playing with it like he had the cue ball. “So, what about bathroom breaks? Anyone else gotta pee?”

Steve looked around the room, “Clint? How’re you doing, buddy?” He couldn’t spot the other blond right away.

“M’okay,” Clint muttered from just outside the door, sounding tired but definitely still alive.

Looking over, Steve frowned and walked out into the hall to go check on the other man. He crouched down in front of him, “Clint? You feeling okay? You’re . . . pale.”

Looking up at Steve, Clint nodded, his eyes almost swollen shut and red, tears misting them. “Yeah, fine. Hungry?” He offered the plate of food, most of it already bitten or crumbled.

Shaking his head, Steve took the plate and set it aside. He helped ease Clint to his feet and let the other man lean on him as he practically dragged Clint into the game room. Walking over to one of the couches on the sidewall, Steve eased the man down, “Sam? Come check on Clint . . . I don’t think he’s okay. Something is wrong.”

Bucky snorted softly, “probably stuffed himself too full and now regretting it.”

Sam stood and walked over to Clint and began checking him over. “Clint, you allergic to any food, man?” he asked softly.

“Nah, food like me,” Clint muttered.

Looking at Sam, Steve asked, “his eyes are swollen shut. Not like he’s been crying, though . . . and it looks like he has a fever.”

Nodding, Sam asked, “anyone got some water? Maybe a first aid kit?” He pried Clint’s eyes open and sighed, “you itchy, man? Trouble breathing?”

Clint shook his head. “Nope. I’m just bummed and . . . you know? She’s my best girl! M’ buddy! And she’s fuckin’ hot! What hot chick wants _me_?”

Loki held up TJ’s water glass, “will this do?” he asked, rising to his feet. He walked over and offered the water.

Sam took the glass and put it to Clint’s lips. “Okay, man, drink up.”

Not bothering to protest, Clint let Sam carefully pour the water into his mouth, swallowing instinctively as his mouth filled. Once done, he said, “‘m okay, I swear! Just splashed some mustard in my face or something. Hurts in the eyes. I can wash it out, ‘kay?”

“You never had the mustard, Clint,” Steve said softly, a worried frown on his pretty features, remembering how Natasha had held the condiment in her hand. 

“Oh,” Clint frowned, looking like he thought hard. “Grape jelly? Grape jelly stings like a bitch in the eyes?” He squinted up at Steve and Sam.

Steve looked at Sam, the worry so evident on his features. “Maybe we can get some _Benadryl_? Maybe it is an allergic reaction.”

“Anyone got _Benadryl_?” Sam asked, “First aid kit?”

Bucky grabbed one from the wall and brought it over, opening it and offering the entire contents to Sam, who pulled out the proper medicine and gave it to Clint. Clint swallowed down more water with the pill and leaned against Steve with a sigh.

“What’s happening to him?” TJ whimpered, looking over with wide eyes.

Sam looked up, “he’s resting and responding well to the antihistamine. Apparently, Clint has at least one food that doesn’t like him.”

The swelling around Clint’s eyes eased a bit and he sounded like he breathed a bit easier. Sighing, Clint nodded and said, “yeah. Maybe there was a bad food in there.”

Steve let out a sigh of relief, giving Clint a small smile and then looked up at the others. Turning his attention back down to Clint, Steve said, “maybe take a break on the food for a bit, yeah?”

“Yeah, but m’ blood sugar, ‘teve,” Clint sighed, drowsily.

“We’ll make sure your blood sugar stays good, okay?” Steve offered Clint a small smile.

“‘Kay,” Clint agreed and fell quiet, eyes moving to watch his friends scattered about the room.

Sam breathed a sigh of relief and sat back on his heels. He looked up at Steve. “Okay, we’re all in the same room. We got a game plan?”

“Keep each other alive until the police show up?” Steve suggested, glancing towards Bucky.

Bucky nodded in agreement and reached over to stroke his brother’s thigh. “You okay, Teej, baby?” he asked softly.

“Feel like Imma get sick again,” TJ murmured softly, moving his eyes to look at Bucky. “Why - - why is someone doin’ this? We - - we’ve never done anything to . . . to anyone.”

With a sigh, Bucky shook his head. “I have no clue. To understand this crazy shit, we’d probably have to be just as crazy.”

“B - - but why _us_? Why - - why did they pick _us_?” TJ whimpered and felt his stomach heave, the only thing in it at the moment the _Valium_ and a few sips of water.

“Some jerk was passing by and saw the lights and got jealous?” Bucky asked. He shrugged. “Just rest, Teej. We should be safe now.”

Swallowing the rising bile in his throat, TJ nodded and let his head fall back on Loki’s shoulder, his thin body trembling. “Safe now . . .

Bucky looked at the others. “I still need ta pee,” he commented with a soft frown.

“Okay,” Steve nodded, carefully getting back to his feet, “I’ll go with you to the bathroom. Anyone else need to go?”

Sam shook his head and Loki sighed, reaching out to stroke TJ’s curls, “not yet,” he assured, almost lazily.

A rustle came from Clint and his hand rose languidly in the air, “me,” he said.

Steve was immediately there to help Clint stand up, “you sure you’re okay to walk, buddy?”

Clint leaned into Steve’s side and giggled softly. “Yup. Still got feetsies.” His swelling and redness had come down to be replaced with drowsiness and a case of giggles.

After receiving _no’s_ from Thor, Riley, and TJ, Steve started to carefully guide Clint out of the game room, calling, “Buck? Wanna get in front? That way you aren’t by yourself in the back?”

“Yeah,” Bucky shook himself and hopped up, heading out the door. He squeezed around his boyfriend and Clint and led the way down the hall to the nearest bathroom. Opening the door, he studied the room for a moment then nodded, “looks clear.” Bucky headed for the toilet and undid his trousers so he could urinate.

Clint didn’t seem to care that Bucky was exposed in front of him. He fumbled to release his own member to pee, as well. “Steve, I can stand. Give me room?” he requested.

Nodding, Steve pulled back, letting both Bucky and Clint have a moment to relieve themselves. The blond turned his back on the both of them to watch the hall from the doorway.

Another chuckle escaped Clint, “man, las’ time we had a pee contest was fifth grade, ‘member, Buck?”

Letting out a short laugh, Bucky said, “yeah. Ya pissed on my shoes that time, too. Aim, dammit!”

“Thought I was,” Clint sighed and he cleaned himself up then turned to lean on the sink and wash his hands, tucked away politely once more.

Glancing over his shoulder, Steve asked, “need any help, Clint?”

Leaning against the sink, Clint shook his head. “Peed on Bucky. Sorry.”

“It’ll clean,” Steve waved off dismissively, “right, Buck? A cycle in the wash will take care of it.”

“Sure, two hundred dollar Italian leather was cured in urine, after all, I’m sure. Part of the tanning process.” He sighed. “But until I can get them cleaned, I certainly don’t wanna walk around in pee-shoes.” Bucky flushed the toilet and tucked himself away, zipping up. He turned and sat on the porcelain seat, bending to undo his footwear, removing the first boot. With a sigh, he complained, “damn. Second one’s a bitch!”

Frowning, Steve turned completely to face the two men in the bathroom, “what’s wrong, Buck? Can’t get it off?”

Clint snickered, and Bucky shot a glare at Clint. “Yeah, it’s a bit tight.” Clint snickered again. Bucky shot him a dirty look. “What are you, like thirteen?”

Sighing softly, Steve made his way over to his boyfriend to try and help Bucky get the second boot off. “Why is this one on so tightly?”

Giving Steve an incredulous look, Bucky said, “maybe the human urine is causing it to shrink like blood caused OJ’s gloves to shrink? I dunno.”

Quirking one brow at Bucky, Steve finally managed to ease the boot off of Bucky’s foot. “There. Better?”

Nodding, Bucky whispered, “much better, Stevie. Thanks.” He stood to wash and dry his hands then bent to check his trousers hadn’t gotten caught in the stream. “All set. Just dump the boots there. They won’t be any good. Wash up and let’s get back to the others. I don’t like leaving Teej this long.”

Steve nodded, setting the boots down and walking over to the sink to wash his hands, before turning to offer Clint a supportive embrace. Het blinked in shock when Clint was nowhere to be seen. “What the hell? Where did Clint go?”

Bucky looked over, frowning. “He was leaning on the door acting like a perv. Didn’t even know he had the strength to get himself lost.”

“He was just acting like Clint,” Steve said softly, grabbing Bucky’s hand and tugging him out of the bathroom, “c’mon, he probably just went ahead. I bet he didn’t get too far.”

Nodding, Bucky let Steve lead him down the hall, looking all around for their missing friend as they walked. “C’mon,” he said, sounding worried once more, “how far can a guy on _Benadryl_ get? That’s the stuff they use in meds that makes you sleepy!”

“Why would he go on ahead without us?” Steve asked, shaking his head, scanning the hall in front of him for their friend.

“Cause he’s an ass and wasn’t thinking? Maybe he thought I’d really be okay with walking around in pissy shoes? Who knows what makes Clint do what he does.” Bucky shook his head. “The kid used to eat bugs in recess.”

Sighing, Steve chewed on the inside of his cheek, looking around for Clint. “Where the hell did he go? We’re almost at the game room!”

“Probably took a detour down a hallway, got himself lost,” Bucky moaned, sounding worried despite his complaints. He looked back down the hallway at the branches their friend could have stumbled down.

“I don’t wanna split up but we have to find him!” Steve stated.

“We can check together, right?” Bucky almost whimpered, gripping Steve harder.

“Yeah,” Steve nodded, letting out a trembling breath, “together . . .” 

“Always,” Bucky whispered and began guiding his boyfriend back down the great hall. He stopped short at the first branch and looked down it, peering in the low emergency lighting. Pulling out his flashlight, he let the light shine down the hall. “Looks clear. Should we try all the halls before going down one?”

“Yeah, we have to try and be quick,” Steve said, looking down the hall as well and then back at Bucky.

“Okay,” Bucky drew a steadying breath, though his voice wavered. “Next hall.” The third hall they looked down, they found Clint, lying uncomfortably in a heap and staring at the ceiling.

“No, no, no,” Steve whispered, breaking off from Bucky to run up to Clint, skidding to his knees beside the unresponsive man. “Clint? C’mon . . . what the fuck is happening?” Steve reached out to feel for a pulse, praying to find any sign of life despite the blond’s unseeing, dull eyes. Sobbing, Steve started to try CPR on Clint, “come back,” he whimpered, not wanting to lose another friend that night.

Bucky knelt down to assist Steve, shaking his head, “no, he’s okay, just acting like Clint. A bad joke? Maybe he’s asleep, right, Steve?”

Shaking his head, another sob escaping him, Steve continued his chest compressions, trying to bring Clint back, “no . . . no, he - - he’s gone . . .”

“Then why are we still trying? My God, how’d he die? He was fine. They gave him fuckin’ Benadryl!” Bucky pulled his hands back, sitting on his feet, looking helpless, almost as helpless as his brother.

Sitting back, slumping in defeat, Steve shook his head, “I . . . I have no idea. He was _fine_.”

“If fine includes rabies?” Bucky gestured aimlessly with one hand towards Clint’s general direction. “He’s got foam around his mouth and nose.”

“We need to ask Sam . . . he - - he might know . . .” Steve murmured, staggering back to his feet, his eyes locked on Clint’s body.

Bucky leaned forward to get his feet out from under him and scrunched up his nose. “And where the hell did he hide almonds on his ass? My God, the guy never stops eating!” Bucky pushed off the floor onto his stockinged feet.

Letting out a breath, Steve grabbed Bucky’s hand and started back towards the game room. When they got back to where the rest of their group was, it was clear that Steve had been crying and that both Bucky and Steve were very shook . . . then there was the absence of Clint.

Bucky trembled as he stepped up to Sam and whispered in his ear, “I think Clint found some bad almonds. He’s foaming at the mouth and he reeks of them.”

Sam looked shocked and bolted out the door.

“Not alone!” Riley called out, running out after Sam, quickly catching up with his husband.

Bucky sank to a chair and buried his head in his hands, elbows on knees.

“What happened? Where is Clint?” Thor asked, looking between Bucky and Steve.

With a soft sound of defeat, Bucky claimed, “the _Benadryl_ knocked him out. He’s sleeping it off in the hall.”

Very softly, Loki asked, “the _long_ sleep?” He looked up, trying not to disturb his own finally sleeping husband. “And that’s what, three now?” Loki frowned softly, eyes worried.

“Six. Maria, Pepper, Bruce, Natasha, Tony, and Clint . . .” Steve shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself.

“Natasha, Tony, Bruce, and Clint . . .” Loki said, “so, four . . .” he watched Steve and Bucky.

Bucky’s head shot up from his hands and he growled low, eyes narrowed. “You fuckin’ accusing us of this shit? You fuckin’ asshole. You’re probably going around doing it and . . . wait, is TJ okay?” His eyes instantly went to his sleeping brother, worry ratcheting up.

Loki nodded, “yes, he’s exhausted but very much alive.”

“You . . . you two have found a majority of the bodies . . .” Thor commented softly, his blue eyes flickering between Bucky and Steve. 

Bucky froze and turned to Thor, pale blue eyes widening incredulously. “What the hell? Are you saying _we_ did this, too?”

“I am merely stating fact, Bucky,” Thor held up his hands; letting out a sigh, he continued, “you two have been the ones to discover four out of the six bodies . . .”

“Not by choice,” Bucky moaned.

“Bucky and I aren’t killing everyone,” Steve shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I no way could have killed Clint!” Bucky agreed. “He was on his own, wandered off while I was taking off my boots he peed on!”

“Bucky’s right. He was with me when Clint wandered off,” Steve reported with a nod.

Loki studied the men and then nodded, as if in acceptance of their defense. “And no one was present when Bruce died. We were all together, at least.” He sighed and softly stroked TJ’s curls.

“Thank you,” Bucky gestured with both hands towards Loki, palms up. “Someone making sense!”

“We need to keep together. Accusing each other is only going to separate us . . . which is what the killer wants,” Steve sighed softly, running his fingers through his hair. He looked out the window, frowning softly at the sight of the continued heavy storm raging outside.

Bucky nodded his agreement but didn’t speak up, studying his brother-in-law, a man he’d never felt was good enough for his baby brother. Finally, the brunet said, “so, when Sam and Riley get back, are we going to search the house in a group or pairs or something? Start here and work our way up so whoever’s out there is trapped?”

“That sounds like a solid plan,” Thor nodded his approval, “we will catch this man who has been tormenting us!”

Loki said, “and do we carry TJ on this tour? Because I’m certainly not leaving him alone while he sleeps.”

“Of course not,” Thor nodded his agreement, looking down at Loki and TJ. The young brunet’s head rested on Loki’s shoulder and all the worry was free from TJ’s features, making him look so much younger. “You can stay in here with TJ until he wakes?”

Relief filled Loki’s eyes and he agreed. Stroking TJ’s curls, Loki met his brother’s eyes. “If you find that bastard, try not to kill him? I want him to rot in jail.”

“Aye, brother,” Thor agreed with a nod.

Bucky sighed and looked towards the door. “So, when Sam and Riley get back . . .”

“We’ll go search the house,” Steve confirmed.

Sam walked back into the room with his husband. He shook his head and began putting the first aid kit, or what remained of the supplies, neatly away. Looking up, he checked on TJ’s awareness before softly saying, “we lost Clint to cyanide.”

“What?” Steve’s eyes snapped to look at Sam, “cyanide? He was . . . poisoned? It - - it wasn’t a bad reaction to food or something?”

“At first it was, and the _Benadryl_ worked. But somehow, between my attending him and his death, he got a hold of cyanide. The foaming? The smell of almonds? Those are signs of cyanide poisoning. Of course, without Bucky being able to smell the cyanide, we’d never have known. Only half the human population can actually smell it.”

“When . . . when could he have been given cyanide? Bucky and I were with him! Except for, what?” Steve glanced to Bucky and then back to Sam, “maybe five minutes? _Maybe_.”

“Yeah, after he peed on me he must’ve ditched the bathroom. Is that when the killer gave him cyanide?” Bucky asked, frowning, taking Steve’s hand securely, as if to protect his boyfriend or himself.

“How long does it take for cyanide to work? Could he have been poisoned before we went to the restroom?” Steve asked, trying to figure everything out.

Sam sighed, “can take minutes to a couple hours, actually. He could have eaten it in his food or had a shot of it while you guys were in the bathroom. I can’t tell without an autopsy.”

“Jesus,” Steve murmured, running his free hand through his blond hair.


	3. What Really Happened?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **WARNINGS: Death, Murder, Anxiety, Misused Medicine, Insanity**  
>  ,  
> Steve-Bucky-Stucky (Chemical30) was co-author on this story

A small groan came from TJ and he blinked wearily, still looking exhausted. He looked around the room, “where’s Clint?” TJ slurred slightly, seeming a bit off, even for having taken three _Valium_.

Bucky hurried to say, “we were going to pair up and look for him, actually. And see if we could corner the asshole upstairs. You and Loki stay here as homebase?”

“Stay here?” TJ blinked slowly, meeting his brother’s eyes, “but - - gotta help find Clint.”

“Yes, darling,” Loki stood and helped TJ up. “So, do we have a plan as to who searched where?”

“No,” Steve shook his head, frowning softly as he watched TJ who seemed to be falling back asleep even though he stood up.

Bucky ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, I’ve got a plan. Sam and Riley check downstairs and flush whoever it is up here. Me, Steve, and Loki can see if we can rig the system to get us out of this building. Thor can stay here and watch over TJ. Big guy like him will scare asshole off and keep Teej safe while he sleeps, right?”

Thor glanced over at Loki and TJ, lips pulled down in a frown, “is that okay, brother? Or do you wish to stay with TJ?”

Shaking bhsi head, Loki ran his hand down his face. “Bucky has a point. If you stay with TJ, the killer will think twice before attacking. And if Bucky and I are working on the electronics, Steve can protect _us_. I trust you, brother.” Loki clapped Thor on the shoulder and offered a grim look.

“Upon my life, I will keep young TJ safe,” Thor nodded, reaching out to clap Loki’s shoulder in return. He looked over at TJ, who leaned heavily against Loki, eyes drooping shut. “Perhaps, we should place him on the couch?”

Loki gently transferred his husband to his brother’s side, letting Thor support him. “Yes, do what you feel is necessary. Don’t give him any more Valium, though. Three was plenty.” He walked over to Bucky and Steve. “We’ll need the tools from the lab,” he said, face impassive.

Steve nodded, watching as Thor scooped up TJ in his strong arms and carried the younger man to the couch. Looking back at Loki and Bucky, Steve said, “okay. We’ll go there first.” Moving his eyes to Sam and Riley, he asked, “you guys sure you’ll be okay upstairs?”

Nodding, Sam said, “since we’ll be starting at the bottom and working our way up, we should be fine. No surprises, right?”

“Right,” Steve nodded, letting out a breath, “okay . . . everyone ready?”

Nodding, Bucky said, “so all five of us head downstairs then we split on this level?”

“Sounds good,” Riley nodded his agreement.

Bucky hesitated then asked, “what if Sam and Riley corner him? How can they tell us to come help?”

“Hollar? I mean, the mansion carries sound?” Steve suggested.

“But there’s three floors, if we’re down by the front door, how can we hear them scream from one of the back bedrooms?” Bucky worried his bottom lip.

“I don’t know,” Steve shook his head, “anyone got any ideas? My phone is still out of service. So I can’t call.”

Sam sighed. “Clint called out. Is his still working?”

“Didn’t check,” Steve replied.

Gulping down bile at the thought of facing his friend in that condition, Sam nodded. “Okay, let’s go check phones. Tony’s oughta work if it wasn’t fried. State of the art. And the intercom? Does that work?”

“I don’t know.” Steve repeated, running a hand down his face, getting tired of being asked questions that he had no clue about the answer. “No one has tried the intercoms.”

Sam reached out to squeeze Steve’s bicep. “I’m only thinking out loud, Steve, not trying to make you leader or anything. Riley and me will check on Clint’s phone and Tony’s. Bucky and Loki can see if the intercom works.”

“Okay. So, now we have a plan, right?” Steve asked, looking at the others.

“Yes, we do,” Loki confirmed. “The lab first for tools and Tony’s phone.” He gestured to Bucky and Steve. “After you. Sam and Riley can bring up the rear, since I’m partnerless.”

Steve nodded and then turned to lead the group out of the game room, leaving Thor with TJ. 

As the group made their way towards the stairs, Bucky insisted on detouring to Clint to see if his phone worked. He gingerly pulled the phone from Clint’s pocket, wincing, and checked it. Frowning, he said, “battery’s dead.”

“And his charger would be in his bag,” Steve sighed, looking over at Sam and Riley, “when you guys search the upstairs room . . . keep an eye out for Clint’s overnight bag?”

Eyes lighting up, Bucky nodded. “And mine? My phone was dead, too. Maybe we can charge them both and they’ll both work?”

Riley nodded, “okay. We’ll search bags, too, see if there is anything we can use.”

“Right,” Sam agreed and the group turned towards the steps down to the lab.

Once downstairs, Bucky carefully opened the lab door and winced at the sight of Bruce and Tony still in there. He took a breath, shaking a bit, and pulled Steve into the room. “Okay, phones . . .” he whispered.

Loki began carefully collecting tools and putting them in a bin to carry with him, since Tony didn’t seem to have a storage unit for them. Their friend seemed to have a habit of just leaving them lying around so he could find the one he wanted instead of organizing things.

Steve walked up to Tony’s body, and began going through the inventor’s pockets, trying to find the man’s phone. He hated going through Tony’s items, his body, but they needed working phones. Finally, he managed to pull out a phone out of Tony’s jacket pocket and he frowned fiercely, “shattered?” He displayed the broken device to his friends, “but . . . that doesn’t make sense?”

“Maybe . . . maybe the killer broke it and then put it back?” Riley offered with a worried frown, glancing to Sam.

Sam shrugged and said, “or Tony broke it and hadn’t yet replaced it. Let’s check the closets and bathroom, babe.”

Riley nodded, turning to follow Sam.

“Bruce have his on him?” Steve asked Bucky, who stood closer to Bruce’s body.

Bucky grimaced again and reached into Bruce’s pocket. He nodded and pulled out the device but frowned severely. “Fried, I think.”

“Okay,” Steve sighed, shaking his head as he put Tony’s phone on the table. He looked over at Loki and asked, “do we need any other tools?”

“No, got it,” Loki said and returned to the others. “Let’s get upstairs and start working on a door or window.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed and then called out to Sam and Riley, “you guys finished checking the other rooms?” The lab took up the majority of the bottom floor, so there were only a few other rooms to check.

Sam came out of the bathroom and nodded. “Nothing down here. Left all doors opened, but turned off the lights in each. Save the generator.”

“Good thinking,” Steve approved with a nod and then took one last look at his dead friends. Shaking himself, the blond sighed, “let’s get upstairs, work on getting the hell out of here.”

Bucky headed up the steps first, Sam following at the very rear of the column. As they neared the top of the steps, the lights went out over the entire hallway. “Fuck!” screamed Bucky. “Hands on the wall, guys. Get off the stairs. Too precarious!”

As Steve carefully made his way up the remaining steps, he called, “stay together! Everyone is here, right? Sam? Riley? Loki? Buck?” 

“Right here!” Riley answered, making it up the final step, standing in the darkness of the hallway. 

“Here,” Sam replied, a little breathless as he made it to the top stair while trying not to overstep and fall.

“Loki? Bucky?” Steve repeated, feeling his heart beating in his chest as he looked blindly around the dark space.

No answer came from either man in the dark. Sam ventured, “might've tried to get away from the stairs to give us room and stumbled down a side hall. Got turned around in the dark. Anyone got a flashlight?”

“Dammit!” Steve hissed in worry.

“I have one,” Riley answered, pulling out a flashlight from his pocket and turning it on, offering some light.

Guided by the beam, they found their way down the main hall and heard footsteps, slow and steady, heading towards the gameroom. Suddenly the lights flickered back on. A blood curdling scream came from the direction of the game room followed by a second scream.

Sam bolted towards the room. Steve didn't care at that point, breaking into a sprint towards the game room, his heart hammering against his ribcage. Riley quickly followed after the other two men. From a connected hall, Loki ran up to the group and asked, “what the hell?”

They made it to the game room and froze in horror, right behind Bucky in the doorway. There, sprawled across the back of the couch, almost draped over TJ, was the bleeding form of Thor.

TJ sobbed and crawled off the couch, covered in Thor’s blood. He started to frantically wipe at the gore. The young brunet looked over at Thor’s body, pale eyes wide and standing out against the red staining his face.

Loki put down his box of tools and headed to TJ just as Bucky made his way to his brother. Both men bumped into each other trying to hug TJ to comfort him.

“No, no, no!” TJ wailed, rubbing harshly at the blood on his hands, “get it off!”

Bucky took TJ’s hands as Loki wrapped an arm around him and both led the younger man towards the nearest bathroom.

Steve hurried over to Thor, trying to see if the large blond still breathed. He immediately saw the fatal blow to the back of Thor’s neck, the base of his skull, and looked over at Sam. Steve swallowed thickly and shook his head.

“The asshole took a chance. TJ could have woken up at any time,” he murmured, looking horrified.

“TJ’s alive probably because he didn’t wake up,” Steve swallowed down the nausea he felt.

“But how’d the asshole even know TJ would be asleep?” Sam looked around. “Has he been hiding and listening to us?”

“He’s watching us . . . playing with us like a cat and a mouse,” Riley shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself. “This is a game to him . . .”

“Why not kill TJ while he had him asleep and unaware? Why just Thor?” Sam shook his head, pulling Riley into his arms.

“I think Riley might be onto something . . .” Steve sighed softly, tearing his eyes off of Thor’s body, “this is a game. It wasn’t . . . it wasn’t TJ’s turn?”

“That’s sick . . . twisted, man,” Sam said. “We need to get out of here!”

“When . . . when Loki and Bucky come back with TJ - - we can start working on getting a door open,” Steve let out a shuddering breath, looking over at Sam. “I don’t know if the killer planned the outage or took advantage of it but . . . we’re obviously dealing with someone not just twisted but very smart.” 

“Probably planned it,” Loki said from the doorway, TJ pressed safely to his side. “The power outages are too convenient. He’s always close enough to take advantage.”

“Definitely someone very intelligent,” Riley said with a nod, looking over at Loki and TJ with worried eyes.

TJ, pressed against his husband, pale and trembling, looked around, forcing his eyes from Thor’s body, “you - - you guys didn’t find Clint?” Most of the blood had been washed from his skin but there had been nothing they could do about the stains on his clothing.

“Found Clint,” Sam admitted, ignoring Bucky’s glare from the doorway, right behind Loki and TJ. “He didn’t make it, man.”

Letting out a shuddering breath, TJ closed his eyes and shook his head, “wh - - what the hell is happening? The killer . . . he keeps using different - - different methods?”

“How’d you know Clint was different from anyone else? And Thor and Tony were both bludgeoned,” Sam said, watching TJ with a mix of sympathy and dawning suspicion.

Blinking, TJ’s eyes snapped to meet Sam’s and he stammered, “you - - _what_? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because, TJ, like it or not, Thor was killed right over you and you survived,” Sam pointed out, trying to sound calm.

“And . . . you’ve been _sick_ most the night . . .” Riley said softly.

“And he couldn’t have killed anyone,” Loki said. “He was either with me or Bucky the entire night, until he was with Thor. How could he have killed Clint? Or the ladies? Or Bruce and Tony? We’ve always had eyes on TJ.”

“Right, yeah . . . sorry,” Sam sighed, shaking his head, regret in his eyes. “Sorry, man.”

A shudder ran down TJ’s spine and he shrugged, trying not to let it show how much it had hurt that Sam and Riley had honestly suspected him for a moment. “What . . . what are we going to do now?”

“Bucky and I need to work on the security to get us out of here,” Loki frowned. “Steve will watch TJ. Unless we want to mix up the pairings? Sam can keep an eye on TJ and Steve can go with Riley. We still have to search the house, and now we have to redo the bottom floor again since the perp had a chance to go back down there while we’ve been distracted.” He let go TJ for a moment, and walked over to his adopted brother. Touching Thor’s hair, he murmured something, looking like he tried to bury his grief. A shudder ran down Loki’s frame and he stiffened. “We should get this done now,” his voice sounded angry, if soft. Everyone else killed had been a friend; Thor was the first family member killed.

“Before anyone else can get hurt,” Riley nodded, sighing and looking up at Sam, “what do you want to do? Watch TJ and have Steve come with me? Or, have Steve watch TJ and you help me search the rooms?”

Sam hugged Riley closer and shook his head. “I think we should just all stay together in one room. If we’re in a group, he can have the rest of the house.”

Looking over at Bucky, Steve asked, “what do you think, Buck?”

Bucky shook his head. “The hallway’s gonna get awfully crowded, but he’s right. If we stick together, searching the house might be pointless. Just as long no one gets in my or Loki’s way of fixing the security.”

“Alright,” Steve nodded, looking at the surviving members of their once large group. “We all go together. Let’s get the hell out of here,” the blond walked over and picked up the bin of tools that Loki had set down. 

Sam nodded and looked at Bucky, “after you, master electrician,” he said, still cradling Riley in his arms. When Bucky turned and left the game room, Sam guided Riley right behind him, Loki letting Steve go before he led TJ out.

The entire group headed for a side window in the hall between the dining room, sitting room, and study. Bucky walked over to the electrical security box posted near the patio door. Turning, he waited for Loki to let go of TJ with a kiss and step forward, signaling Steve to bring the box over. Bucky pulled out the same grounding bracelet as before and slipped it on, hooking it up so he didn’t accidentally get electrocuted. Loki, too, grounded himself.

As the pair began to slowly, carefully, go over the sophisticated system, Sam turned and eyed the closed doors surrounding them. He gave a shudder and hugged Riley again. “Feel like _Jurassic Park_ , that raptor hunt scene.”

Swallowing thickly, Riley nodded his agreement, looking over the hallway, “feel like the killer is just watching us. Don’t feel safe at all . . .”

“None of us do,” Bucky called out, sounding frustrated.

“You okay, Buck?” TJ asked softly, his arms wrapped around himself as he leaned against the wall.

“Tony’s system is all messed up. Half these wires don’t seem to do anything. And this system is also set up to be tamper proof.” Bucky ran the back of his hand over his forehead, pushing back his bangs. “One wrong move and we get a jolt bigger than Bruce had.”

TJ whimpered softly, his eyes locked on his brother and husband as they worked on the security system, fearing that he’d lose them, too.

“And, I can’t believe I’m just asking this now,” Riley spoke up, “but, are there no windows that we can just _break_ open?”

Bucky stopped and slowly turned his head to look at Riley. “Maybe? I mean, Tony had shatterproof glass in some, but it’s possible something’s still breakable?” He sounded desperate and excited. “So maybe we should be going around trying to break windows and doors?”

“I think that may be our best shot,” Riley nodded, looking at the others.

“It’s at least worth trying,” Steve agreed, bending down to begin pulling out tools that could be used to shatter windows. Unfortunately, Loki’s stash consisted only of small tools to work on delicate electronics, nothing heavy or sturdy in the lot. Steve sighed and shook his head, standing back up, “well, we could try using chairs and whatnot?”

Standing, unfastening his grounding bracelet, Bucky said, “or we could say “fuck the crime scene” and use Tony’s wrench or that damn horseshoe? Candlesticks?”

“We can’t. The police will need those for evidence,” Riley commented, watching Bucky with a small frown.

Bucky’s mouth dropped open incredulously. “Riley, you can’t be serious? Fuck the investigation. We need to escape this madhouse before anyone else is slaughtered!”

“And make it harder for the police to catch the man who did this by corrupting key evidence?” Riley shot back, tensions running high.

“Great, give the police six more bodies to investigate!” Bucky snarled. “Shall I go back to trying not to get electrocuted or do we break outta this place?”

“There are other things we can use, Bucky,” Steve stated, looking between his boyfriend and Riley, “chairs, candlesticks . . . things like that. We don’t have to use items that . . . that were used to kill our friends.”

“Fine,” Bucky sighed, but he still looked angry. “Why don’t we hunt the house for something to use, but don’t forget to keep your eyes open for a deranged lunatic covered in blood.” He tossed his small screwdriver at the electric panel and turned, storming over to a door and opening it. “Hey, any killer in here? No? ‘Cause I’m looking for heavy shit!”

“Bucky,” Steve strode over and grabbed his boyfriend’s bicep, whirling him around, “calm down, okay?”

Bucky let out a soft sob, shaking his head. He leaned in, his face in Steve’s shoulder. “I want you safe . . . and TJ . . . and everyone.”

“We will be,” Steve assured, running his hands up and down Bucky’s back. “We’ll get out of here but, first, you need to take a few deep breaths, okay?”

Trembling, clutching Steve’s shirt, Bucky rolled his face back and forth in Steve’s strong shoulder. “This is a nightmare . . .”

Letting out a breath, TJ turned from watching Bucky and Steve to the closest door to him. He opened it and peered inside. The young man stepped inside and started searching the room for anything that could be used to break open a window.

Loki sighed and walked in behind his husband. “Teej, don’t think any of us should separate from the group, okay?” He helped search.

“How else are we gonna find something to get out of here?” TJ muttered, his hands trembling as he started opening drawers. 

Nodding, Loki said, “we have flashlights that are pretty sturdy. There’s always the fire extinguishers.”

“Where’s the fire extinguisher?” TJ asked, looking around the room.

“I think he keeps one in the hallway, but more like in every . . .” Loki shook his head. “The front sitting room! Bruce had a big fire in the fireplace. He would’ve had the fire extinguisher with him.”

Nodding, TJ hurried out of the room, claiming, “the sitting room!”

“Damn it, TJ! Wait for me!” Loki sounded frustrated, following.

Riley looked over as TJ and Loki came out of a room, “what about the sitting room?”

Grabbing TJ’s arm to keep him from wandering off by himself, Loki said, “Bruce might have had a fire extinguisher there. He had a fire in the fireplace.”

“Sam and I can go look?” Riley offered.

Nodding, Sam agreed, “yeah. We’ll go check there, first. Maybe Tony had other big tools in the lab? Maybe some of those can be taken . . . a hammer or something?”

“Yeah, Bucky pulled back from Steve reluctantly. “Okay, Stevie and I go check for bigger tools. Sam and Riley look for fire extinguishers. Teej? Loki?”

Loki sighed and looked at his husband. “Help me try to get through the patio doors or something? Maybe the connector to the pool house or garage?”

“I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but, I can try?” TJ nodded. The young brunet seemed to be getting himself under control, at least to the point where he could offer assistance.

“Then let’s go, darling.” Loki took TJ’s hand and led him from the area, towards the hall with the pool entrance.

Riley let out a breath and then turned in the opposite direction, leading Sam towards the sitting room. Leaning in close, Riley whispered in his lover’s ear, “something isn’t right, Sam. I - - I don’t think this is a stranger doing all this . . .”

Nodding, Sam whispered, "I agree, but I can't figure out which one it is.” Sam let go of Riley to run a hand over his tight curls. “We should figure out who was available, unaccounted for, every time. TJ, damn it, TJ looks like he could be the guy, Riley. Who else could have hurt Thor?”

“And, he is suddenly able to function?” Riley sighed, shaking his head with a fierce frown on his pretty features. “I don’t like it. It was like after finding Thor . . . he is suddenly okay?”

“Technically, _Bucky_ found Thor. TJ was supposedly still asleep.” Sam shook his head.

“How do you sleep through someone being bludgeoned?” Riley let out a shuddering breath, keeping his voice down. “But, why would _TJ_ want everyone dead?”

“Why would _any_ of us want to kill the others?” Sam shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to puzzle through the horrors of the night. “I mean, even Tony wasn’t annoying enough to actually kill.” He turned his head as he heard something coming from behind the closed door of the dining room. He didn’t realize he hadn’t spoken out loud when he determined to check it out, moving to the door and opening it. Relief ran through Sam when he saw it was Tony’s pet cat, a luxurious-furred _Ragdoll_.

**************

Bucky shook his head as he strode down another hallway, grumbling about how anyone could accuse _TJ_ of such heinous acts. He walked through one door and it swung shut, the lock clicking, separating Bucky and Steve.

“Bucky?” Steve called out after nearly running right into the solid surface. Frowning, Steve tried to open the door.

From the other side, Bucky’s worried voice called and the sound of the door rattle came, “Steve? What the hell?”

“The door locked behind you!” Steve tried again, twisting the door knob this way and that. He slammed against it when the doorknob wouldn’t turn. “I can’t get it open!”

“Stevie?” Bucky called back, trying to door again. “I can’t get it open! There’s no lock . . . is there one on your side? Your knob?”

Looking down again, Steve shook his head despite Bucky not being able to see the gesture, “no! Who the hell makes a locking door without any fucking locks?”

“I’m gonna look for another way out, Stevie! Go back to the group. Don’t be alone, baby!” Bucky sounded near hysterical.

“Be careful! God, Buck, please be careful,” Steve said, running his hand down the door before turning to head back towards the others, the other couples in the same direction even though not in the same exact place.

Loki turned a corner, nearly running into Steve. He shook his head. “Steve? I got separated from TJ. Have you seen him?” He sounded worried, scared.

“No. Bucky got locked behind one of Tony’s automatic doors,” Steve looked just as worried.

Nodding, Loki hugged himself and shuddered. “The lightning startled me, blinded me. Then I saw TJ wasn’t there . . .” he shuddered again with a new clap of thunder; apparently his _Valium_ was wearing off.

“Maybe TJ went to the sitting room once he realized you weren’t with him? That’s where Sam and Riley went,” Steve let out a breath and suggested, “let’s try there first?”

Nodding, Loki didn’t point out that Bucky could well be trapped with the killer. They had to find TJ, who was not locked behind a door. Turning, Loki led Steve towards the sitting room.

Once they rounded the corner to the hall that led directly to the sitting and dining rooms, they could see TJ standing out in the hall, staring into the dining room. The young brunet looked pale and his trembling could be seen from far away.

Loki rushed over, “Teej, darling?” He grabbed his husband and pulled him into a hug. Glancing towards the dining room, Loki’s eyes widened and he turned TJ from the sight of Sam lying, bloody and crumpled, on the floor.

“Riley . . . dead . . . candlestick . . .” TJ whimpered, his face buried in Loki’s chest.

Steve walked up, slowly, horror on his features as he looked into both rooms. Riley looked much like his husband, bloody, crumpled on the floor. A bloodied candlestick lying right next to the corpse. “Dammit!” Steve shouted, punching a nearby wall, not at all concerned for the pain that jolted up the limb from the hit. His fear for Bucky only increased. Was Bucky next? Or . . . was he already dead?

Loki met Steve’s eyes. “Let’s go back to where Bucky got locked in. We need to get him free,” Loki’s ice-green eyes looked miserable.

Nodding, Steve looked one last time at both Riley and Sam’s bodies before forcing himself back down the hall in the direction of the last place he’d seen Bucky.

Loki guided TJ, an arm around his shoulders, following Steve. As they approached, Loki pulled out a screwdriver. He let go of TJ and knelt down, beginning to try to get the doorknob removed. “Bucky? You still there?”

“Loki?” Bucky’s voice sounded from the other side of the door. “Where’s Steve? I sent him to find you guys! I’m stuck and I couldn’t get the other door open, either!”

“I’m here, Buck!” Steve called, praying that Loki would be able to get the door open.

“And Teej?” Bucky’s voice ratcheted up with worry. “Is Teej there? Sam and Riley?”

TJ let out a sob, his arms wrapping around his frame, “th - - they’re dead.”

“Teej?” Bucky called through the door. “Baby? You’re hurt?”

“N - - no . . . got - - got separated from Loki . . . went . . .” TJ sobbed again, falling back against the wall with a solid thud, “so much blood . . .”

The lock clicked and Loki pushed the door open, Bucky falling backwards at the unexpected movement of the door. The brunet gathered himself and stumbled out, drawing TJ into a tight hug then reaching over for Steve. “I . . . I hate this house,” he murmured, trembling.

“K - - killed them _all_ ,” TJ shuddered, letting himself burrow into Bucky’s hug. 

Bucky didn’t loosen his grip but he looked over at Loki. “Got separated from Loki?” he asked, voice soft.

Nodding, not lifting his face, TJ muttered, “lighting scared him . . . didn’t - - didn’t realize he’d stopped until . . . until I was too far away. De - - decided to try and find Sam and Riley . . .”

Steve frowned softly, brows knitted down in an expression of confusion and worry. He lifted his eyes to meet Bucky’s though he didn’t say anything.

“Let’s all go into a room . . . maybe there’s an extinguisher in the library?” Bucky suggested, eyes scanning over Loki coldly.

Loki reached out for TJ’s hand. “That’s a good idea.”

TJ let Loki help him back to his feet. The young man leaned into Loki’s side, body trembling once more, “library . . . yeah . . .”

Loki held his husband close and stroked the brunet’s curls, murmuring, “I won’t let him hurt you, darling.” He guided the foursome towards the library, shuddering with each thunderclap, each piercing shaft of lightning.

“How are we gonna get out of here?” TJ whimpered, looking up at Loki as if his husband held all the answers, “the storm isn’t stopping . . . and - - and none of the doors are opening.”

“I got the door to open when Bucky was trapped,”Loki corrected. “I’m sure we’ll get out.” He stopped in the library doorway and checked the large space then guided TJ in. “There’s the extinguisher,” Loki sighed and let go of his husband to head over to the bright red fire-fighting contraption.

Bucky walked in behind TJ and Loki, letting go of Steve’s hand. He walked over to the connected bathroom and looked inside, sighing in relief. “All clear,” he called.

Steve was the last to walk in and he headed directly for the window in the library, He placed his hand up to the glass and shuddered at how _cold_ it felt. He wasn’t sure what they’d do if they were even able to break open a window. The roads were flooded. There was nowhere that they could go. Looking over his shoulder, Steve asked, “does anyone know if Tony ever sold that big truck that he had? We might be able to get out in that.”

“The one his dad kept for construction work?” Bucky asked, walking over to TJ and taking his hand, beginning to guide him to the bathroom. “No, think it’s still here.”

TJ let his brother guide him into the bathroom despite not having to use it. The younger man still was in a state of shock over finding Riley and Sam’s bodies.

Walking over to the sink, Bucky opened the drawer and grinned, “ah ha!” He pulled out a handful of packaged toothbrushes. “Here you go, baby. You can brush.” He offered the fistful to his brother.

Blinking slowly, TJ nodded once and took the brushes, “okay . . . thanks, Buck.”

“Well, you’ve been hours with that damn sour vomit taste, poor thing,” Bucky explained, walking back out of the bathroom to give his brother privacy. He shut the door, knowing no one else was in there. “TJ’s safe, primping,” he said, looking over at Loki, who hefted the fire extinguisher.

“This glass might be able to break,” Steve commented softly and then looked over at Loki and Bucky, “where did Tony keep his keys for his cars? Somewhere we can access them?”

Shaking his head, Bucky sighed, “big display by the front door. Each key would be marked with a hand stenciled tag. If he wasn’t dead, I’d insult him.” Bucky sighed and shuddered. “Damn . . . Tony was annoying, but . . . not _that_ annoying.”

Walking over to the fireplace in the library, Steve picked up the heavy iron poker and looked over, “I’m going to go get the keys. We need that truck if we want to get out of here. Our cars won’t make it through that flooding.”

Nodding, Bucky said, “should I come with you?” He glanced towards Loki who studied the windows and the extinguisher, trying to make sure it wouldn’t explode in a lot of dangerous chemicals if he used it to smash the window.

“No, I can get to the front door on my own. It’s not that far away,” Steve adjusted his grip on the heavy object, “plus, I won’t be defenseless. I’ll be real quick, okay?”

Bucky pulled Steve into a quick, desperate kiss. “Right. This will be over soon and we’ll be safe,” he whispered.

“Damn straight,” Steve agreed, stroking Bucky’s cheek before turning and hurrying out of the library in search of the keys they needed.

Bucky went to the bathroom door. “Almost done, baby?” he called through the wooden barrier.

“Y - - yeah,” TJ murmured, “just . . . trying to get the rest of . . . the blood off.”

“Okay, take your time. We’ll be outta here soon. Steve went for the truck keys.” Bucky fell silent on the other side of the door as TJ scrubbed furiously at the blood. Suddenly a loud popping noise, like a firecracker, sounded from the library.

Jumping, TJ whirled around, the faucet still running, his eyes widening in horror, “Bucky? Loki?” He felt his heart hammering in his chest as he took a hesitant step forward.

A crash of glass came next and a blast of cold slid under the door, revealing they’d gotten the window to break.

“Bucky! Loki!” TJ called out again and then opened the door, freezing in horror at the sight of Loki across the window frame, half in the room and half out in the storm, the broken window surrounding him. “Loki!” TJ screamed, running forward. He didn’t fully process the revolver in Bucky’s hand.

“He . . . he . . .” Bucky sounded horrified, trembling. “He came towards me with the extinguisher! He . . . he was gonna hit me!” Bucky held a gun in one trembling hand.

“No, no, no,” TJ sobbed, pulling Loki back into the room and sliding down on the floor, cradling his dying husband. 

Loki’s eyes blinked slowly and he lifted a very pale hand to touch TJ’s cheek. He breathed out one painful whisper before the light dimmed in his eyes. “Run.” His hand fell limp.

“Loki! No, please!” TJ shook his head and then his husband’s final word settled upon TJ like a sheet of ice. He looked up at his brother, terror and horror on his features, “Buck?”

“He was going to hit me . . .” Bucky repeated, dropping the gun and kicking it away as if it were a snake. He lifted both hands and stepped shakily forward. “He was . . . my God!”

Standing up, slowly, Loki’s blood mixing with Thor’s on his clothing, TJ’s eyes darted towards the door behind Bucky. Darting forward, pushing past his brother, TJ ran out of the room.

Bucky followed, “Teej! Don’t run off!”

Slipping into the room to his right, the music room, shutting the door behind him, TJ quickly hid behind the large piano, squeezing himself next to the wall. Bucky had killed everyone. Why would Bucky want all their friends dead? TJ shook his head, hand over his mouth as he tried to keep back any noises. Hopefully his brother hadn’t seen him run into the room.

After a long moment of crashing storm and pounding heart, the music room door opened and Bucky stepped in. “TJ? I saw you come in here, baby. It’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt you, Teej. You gotta understand. Loki was poison. He was going to hurt you next. I had to stop him.”

TJ closed his eyes, praying that this was all a horrible nightmare, that he’d wake up next to Loki in their warm bed. Safe, in his husband’s arms. The younger man trembled and let out a soft sob, unable to stop the noise. 

“Teej?” Bucky seemed to home in on the sound and headed towards his little brother. “Teej, Loki was hurting everyone. I had to stop him. You understand, right, baby? If I hadn’t, you’d have been hurt.”

Scrambling to the side, crawling under the piano, TJ stumbled away from Bucky, his pale eyes wide, “you - - you killed them _all_. Why - - why would you do that?”

“What? No! What do you mean I killed them all? Bruce was electrocuted! And I was nowhere near Clint!” Bucky stepped in the way and got TJ in a bearhug, holding him in surprisingly strong arms. Most people had no clue just how strong Bucky really was.

TJ tried to fight out of his brother’s arms, letting out a sob, “you - - you rigged the system to hurt Bruce . . . you poisoned Clint . . . _why_?”

Bucky hung his head, still holding his brother tight. He shook his head slowly and said, “really? I did it for _you_ , baby.”

“Me?” TJ’s voice dropped to a horrified whimper, as he tried to push out of Bucky’s arms. “I - - I would _never_ want you to hurt someone . . . our _friends_.”

“I know, baby, I know,” Bucky’s tone turned soothing, as if trying to comfort a child after a nightmare. “But you’re too good, too sweet. You can’t see the true evil in people. They were bad for you. Loki was poison, a user, and they helped him trap you. I freed you, Teej.”

“You’re crazy! You - - you need help!” TJ whimpered, a pit of dread in his stomach, tears falling down his cheeks. 

Sighing, Bucky stroked TJ’s curls with one hand, his other arm still securely around his brother. “You’re not seeing it the right way, TJ. You’re still under that drug pusher’s fuckin’ spell.”

“Please, Buck . . . let me go. You - - you need help. We - - we can get you help . . .” TJ finally put both of his hands on Bucky’s chest and shoved, hard.

Bucky frowned and snapped his other arm down, forcefully around his brother once more. He wrestled the slighter man to the floor and knelt on him, a hard knee pressed on each arm to trap TJ. Bucky growled, “lock me up? So I can’t protect you? I think not!” He reached behind himself and pulled a length of rope from the back of his pants. “No, I see it now. The only way to keep you safe is to make it so no one wants to come near you.” Bucky quickly looped the rope around TJ’s neck and pulled, tight, twisting as he did so. “I love you, TJ.” The deranged look in Bucky’s eyes ws nothing like the loving brother he’d grown up with.

TJ’s eyes widened and his body bucked, trying frantically to get Bucky off of him. His legs kicked, his arms tried to get free from Bucky’s weight. His voice was cut off, reduced to nothing but desperate gasping. He finally was able to land a solid hit to Bucky’s back with his knee, but it was obvious the young man was running out of air.

Bucky gave another twist of the rope, watching the life drain out of the brother he’d spent a lifetime protecting. Finally, sensing TJ was indeed dead, the bruent stood, elving the rope on his brother’s neck. Bucky sighed and shook his head. He turned to walk out of the music room, heading back for the library to meet his boyfriend. Bucky stopped short at the sight of the tall blond, offering him a weak smile.

Steve stood in the doorway of the music room, eyes wide with horror. He’d been too late to save TJ. The large blond looked over at the young man sprawled on the floor, eyes lifelessly staring at them.

“Sam . . . Sam was right, baby. TJ . . .” Bucky shuddered and shook his head, “TJ had to be stopped . . .”

“No,” Steve shook his head, blue eyes flickering to meet Bucky’s, “TJ wasn’t well versed enough in electronics to trigger that system to fry Bruce. Wasn’t strong enough to kill . . . kill everyone with a single blow.” Steve’s eyes were miserable, “you . . . you killed everyone. Your own _brother_.”

Bucky let out a sigh, sounding frustrated. “He didn’t understand, Stevie. TJ stopped listening to me when that fuckin’ druggie swooped in. I tried to spare him. I didn’t want to hurt TJ! But he wouldn’t listen.”

A shudder ran down Steve’s spine and he took a step away from Bucky, “you strangled him . . . God, Bucky! You killed all your friends! Why?”

“No, Steve,” Bucky’s voice turned hard, cold. “They weren’t my friends. They helped Loki steal my brother. They plotted and planned against me. They helped _sell_ my little brother into a world of sex and drugs.” He met Steve’s eyes with his cold pale blue. “So, I put an end to it. They’ll never hurt another innocent young man again.”

Shaking his head, fingers tightening around the keys to the truck, Steve said, “you’re deranged.”

Sighing, Bucky narrowed his eyes. “You, too, Stevie? Why is it everyone I love can’t see the truth? They think I’m some sick psycho who gets off on killing. But that’s not it. They _needed_ to die. You and me . . . God, I wish TJ had understood. Then all three of us coulda left here and started fresh.” Bucky stepped up next to Steve and shook his head again. “Loki broke the window. We can still get outta here.”

Swallowing thickly, Steve nodded, “yeah . . . we can get outta here, Buck.” He needed to find a way to get out of here without Bucky . . . find a way to incapacitate him. 

Nodding again, Bucky took Steve’s hand, the one with the keys not the fireplace poker, and started guiding him back to the library. He made no move to grab the weapon, but he also seemed tense, alert enough not to be taken down by it. If Steve struck, Bucky would most likely fight back; after all, he’d actually killed his beloved little brother. “The truck should be out here,” the brunet said, gesturing towards the driveway beyond the library window.

Steve nodded, quickly glancing at Loki’s body in the library, the fire extinguisher lying nearby. Letting out a breath, the large blond lurched for the heavy object, grabbing it, and bringing it down on Bucky’s back. He didn’t want to kill his boyfriend, but did want to knock him out.

Bucky roared and whirled, scooping up the abandoned fireplace poker and lunging, stabbing the heavy iron into Steve’s chest. “You faithless whore! You turn on me?”

Meeting Bucky’s eyes, Steve’s mouth dropped open, the poker having pierced his lung. With a pained groan, Steve pulled the weapon from his chest, his hand going over the seeping wound, and heading towards the window. Steve stumbled out and over the broken window sill, landing with a pained whimper on the cold, wet patio. Steve tried to stand up but collapsed to his knees once more.

Stepping over to the sill, Bucky frowned fiercely. “You’re just like the others. You couldn’t believe in me, trust me. I thought you loved me, Steve.”

Looking over at Bucky, Steve muttered, “I did,” before collapsing all the way, his final breath rushing out of him as his eyes dulled.

**************

**Wait . . . maybe this ending?**

“You’re crazy! You - - you need help!” TJ whimpered, a pit of dread in his stomach, tears falling down his cheeks. 

Sighing, Bucky stroked TJ’s curls with one hand, his other arm still securely around his brother. “You’re not seeing it the right way, TJ. You’re still under that drug pusher’s fuckin’ spell.”

“Please, Buck . . . let me go. You - - you need help. We - - we can get you help . . .” TJ finally put both of his hands on Bucky’s chest and shoved, hard.

Bucky frowned and snapped his other arm down, forcefully around his brother once more. He wrestled the slighter man to the floor and knelt on him, straddling his brother. Grabbing both TJ’s arms, he pushed them above the slighter man’s head and growled, “you fight me and you’re going to regret it, Teej. You _know_ I’m stronger!”

“Please, you’re insane, Buck! We - - we can get you help . . . just - - please, let me go?” TJ bucked against brother’s hold.

“Not until I fix you. That freak broke you, confused you. I’ve got to get his thoughts out of your head!” Bucky let go of TJ, but he moved quickly, pulling a length of rop from the back of his pants. Expertly, Bucky lopped the rope around TJ’s throat and twisted it until he cut off his brother’s air supply, ignoring any scratching and hitting the younger man did. As he watched the life die from TJ, Bucky said, “gotta get him outta your head . . .”

A sudden strong force knocked Bucky off of TJ’s body, Steve crying out, “Bucky! Stop!” TJ didn’t react at all to the sudden loosening of the rope, coming a few moments too late.

Bucky flung to the floor and slowly turned over, looking shocked and confused. “Stevie? Thank God, Stevie! Loki tried to kill me then TJ turned on me!”

Looking over at TJ, Steve hung his head when it became obvious that the young man was gone. He turned his eyes back to Bucky and shook his head, “no, Buck. I know what you’ve done. You killed everyone.”

Bucky’s eyes wide and he said, defensively, pleading his case, “No! I couldn’t have. I was with you the whole night! Bruce electrocuted, and I never fed Clint anything! Baby, you were _with_ me!”

“No, you kept disappearing. I - - I suspected after Bruce . . . but, I didn’t want to believe it,” Steve let out a shuddering breath.

“It was Loki,” Bucky whined, reaching out to touch Steve’s bicep. “Loki did it all, but he convinced TJ it was me. I had to shoot Loki ‘cause he tried to kill me with that extinguisher . . . and . . . Teej,” Bucky broke off into a sob, shuddering.

“It wasn’t Loki, Bucky,” Steve said again, his voice miserable. 

As if sensing he wasn’t going to convince his boyfriend, Bucky’s demeanor changed to one of calm detachment. “It had to be done, steve. Loki stole my brother, seduced him with drugs and shit, and those bastards helped him force my brother into a marriage! They were the ones who stood guard as Loki made TJ take vows.”

“No, Bucky. TJ loved Loki, and Loki loved TJ,” Steve carefully stood, watching Bucky the whole time. “Loki took good care of TJ but . . . you couldn’t let go . . . and,” he gestured to TJ’s body, hoping to get Bucky to break, “look where that got you?”

Bucky glanced over, his eyes cold, unfeeling, as if he looks at a heap of trash not his beloved little brother. “Loki killed TJ,” he confirmed.

“No, you did. You strangled him,” Steve said, taking a few steps back, towards the door. “You killed your little brother.”

“No,” Bucky shouted and lunged towards Steve, slamming him through the open doorway and into the emergency pantry beyond. “No!”

Unlike Bucky’s other victims, Steve wasn’t unaware and was equally as strong as Bucky. The blond went with the hit and brought both his hands down on the back of Bucky’s neck in a strong attack.

Gasping, then grunting as his head hit the floor, Bucky whimpered. He twisted around, trying to get on his back so he could grapple with Steve. “Fuck! You fucking traitor! You were on _their_ side all along!”

Steve jumped over Bucky’s body and ran for the library with the open window, closest to the truck. He quickly managed to scoop up the fire poker, praying he wouldn’t have to use it . . . that Bucky would just stop.

Screaming wordlessly in rage, Bucky launched himself after his boyfriend once more. “You! It’s _your_ fault my brother’s dead! You plotted against me the whole time!” Bucky threw himself across the library and, pushing aside Loki’s body, climbed out the window, taking the extinguisher as he did so. “I’ll fickin’ kill you!”

Despite the pouring rain and the icy winds, Steve heard when Bucky launched himself at him once more and the blond turned, holding the poker out at the ready, piercing his boyfriend’s chest with the heavy object. Steve let out a sob as he dealt a fatal blow.

Stopping short solely because of the force of the blow through his body, Bucky turned pale blue eyes up at Steve, a look of complete bewilderment on his pretty features. He blinked once and whispered, “Stevie?” before slumping, his own body weight forcing the poker to move inside, causing enough damage to kill Bucky.

“Why did you make me do this, Bucky?” Steve whispered softly, letting go of the poker and letting Bucky collapse to the patio.

**************

**But, wait, I think this might be better:**

“You’re crazy! You - - you need help!” TJ whimpered, a pit of dread in his stomach, tears falling down his cheeks. 

Sighing, Bucky stroked TJ’s curls with one hand, his other arm still securely around his brother. “You’re not seeing it the right way, TJ. You’re still under that drug pusher’s fuckin’ spell.”

“Please, Buck . . . let me go. You - - you need help. We - - we can get you help . . .” TJ finally put both of his hands on Bucky’s chest and shoved, hard.

Bucky frowned and snapped his other arm down, forcefully around his brother once more. He wrestled the slighter man to the floor. “Teej, let me at least explain! You’re under that fucker’s spell!” Bucky knelt down, leaning over his brother, grabbing his shoulders to shake some sense into the younger man.

TJ’s head knocked against the solid floor and he let out a small whimper. Seeing that his brother wasn’t well, that Bucky had snapped, TJ tried a different approach, “o - - okay, Bucky . . . okay . . .”

Stopping his shaking of TJ, Bucky instead pulled him into a tight hug and sobbed suddenly. “He’s dangerous, Teej. He’s got friends who’ll be after us. I need to keep you safe. You me and Stevie can get outta here and hide out. Maybe go to Canada?” Bucky seemed unaware that he had a length of rope peeking out of the back of his pants, yet another weapon he could have used to hurt someone.

Looking down, seeing the rope, TJ brought his hand up and carefully started pulling it out of the crack in Bucky’s pants, “who’s dangerous?”

“Loki, baby,” Bucky said, ignoring the rope, concentrating solely on TJ. “He’s a drug dealer. I . . . I know you love him. God, he’s blinded you, baby. But he’s got dangerous friends. They’ll hurt you, mess you up, and sell you into the sex trade, baby.” Bucky met TJ’s eyes, worry in his own. “See? That’s why the others had to go. They were his enforcers, his bodyguards. They forced you into the wedding and kept you chained to him.”

Despite knowing that Loki _wasn’t_ a drug dealer, that TJ hadn’t been forced into anything, the younger man nodded slowly, glancing over at Steve in the doorway. A bit louder, TJ said, “yeah, okay, Bucky. Let - - let’s get out of here, okay? You, me, and Steve . . .”

Nodding, Bucky sat back on his heels, letting TJ free. “Yeah, we’ll get out. Steve went to get the truck keys.” He began to turn towards the doorway.

Looking between Bucky and TJ, Steve carefully asked, “what happened? Where . . . where is Loki?” The truck keys dangled from his fingers.

“Loki tried to hit me with the extinguisher, Stevie,” Bucky stood and offered TJ a hand up. “I . . . I shot him in self defense.”

TJ let Bucky help him up but when he met Steve’s eyes, something significant passed through those pale blue orbs. Steve, seeming to understand, nodded once and said, “well, the truck is right outside the library window . . . the storm seems to have died down a little.”

“Let’s get outta here,” Bucky said and turned to slip past Steve into the hallway.

When they reached the library, the loud sound of sirens and flashing blue and red lights lit up the night sky. Bucky hesitated, “remember, Loki did it all. I had to shoot him to defend us,” he whispered.

Both Steve and TJ nodded, though the young brunet looked terrified, covered in both Thor’s and Loki’s blood. TJ glanced down at Loki’s body once more and then looked back at Bucky, “yeah . . . Loki - - he . . . he did it.”

Nodding, Bucky climbed out the window, putting his hands in the air, “thank God you’re here! He went insane!”

TJ followed his brother out next, holding his hands up as well. He swallowed down a sob, glancing over at his brother.

Several cops stood there, right outside their vehicles. There appeared to be no flooding in the fast running creek by the road, at least not at that point of the road. One cop called, “okay, please kneel and place your hands on your head, fingers interlocked. Standard procedure. Anyone else inside?”

Steve stepped out at just that moment, following Bucky and TJ’s actions, kneeling down on the wet patio wood, putting his hands on his head.

The police came forward and one grabbed each man, tugging them towards the cars then cuffing their wrists behind their backs.

After the cuffs were on, TJ sobbed and shook his head, “Loki didn’t kill anyone. B - - Bucky killed them all.”

Bucky looked stunned and turned to TJ. “What? No! Loki did it. I had to shoot him when he tried to kill me! I didn’t kill anyone!”

The chief blinked and looked at Steve.

Closing his eyes and letting out a shuddering breath, Steve opened his eyes to meet the chief’s, “Bucky killed them.” He felt nausea build up as the realization came to life. Bucky had killed all their friends because of a delusion that Loki had forced TJ into some marriage while their friends supported it.

“No!” Bucky screamed and began struggling against his bonds, causing the cops to drag him to the back of a cop car and shove him inside.

The police chief shook his head. “Anyone else in there? Any chance anyone lived?”

TJ shook his head, swallowing down another sob, “no - - he . . . he killed them all.”

Nodding, the chief said, “if you both will come to the station so we can sort this out?” He signaled several cops to go in and secure the place and take forensic evidence. “Why the hell would Sergeant Barnes go on a killing spree at his friends’ birthday party?”


	4. Wrapping Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNINGS: Eating Disorders, Medical Misrepresentation **  
> .  
>  Steve-Bucky-Stucky (Chemical30) co-authored this story.****

“Cut!” Director Phil Coulson sat back, grinning widely. “And that’s a wrap guys! Someone get those guys blankets to dry off with. We’re in time for dinner and the press wants some interviews!” The greying man with the thinning hairline turned to speak to his cameraman.

TJ took a blanket from one of the PA’s with a wide grin, suddenly back to his normal self as he watched his older brother, a fellow actor, slip out of the police car with a big grin.

“Great job, guys!” Steve beamed, taking the blanket and wrapping it around his shoulders. 

“A little help, please?” the aristocratic British tones of Loki came from the window where he’d been shoved aside. “I’m caught on the set again.”

Laughing, TJ hurried over to help the older man up, “and he lives!” The brunet cheered happily.

“And I’m hungry!” came Clint’s voice from the hallway. The stocky blond walked in, using a wet wipe to remove the makeup which had caused his face to look bloated and splotched. “Damn, I hate death scenes. Gotta just lie there for hours of takes and pretend not to breathe!”

“At least you weren’t first!” Natasha piped up, pulling a large jacket over her blood stained dress. 

“Or as undignified?” Maria chuckled, joining the slowly growing cast of not-so-dead bodies in the false library. “Pepper had to drown.”

“Not something I’d want to do in real life,” Pepper laughed softly, looking over at Tony Stark.

“Why couldn’t I have been the one electrocuted?” Tony complained, trying to wash fake blood from the back of his head and neck, glaring at the makeup artist who hovered. Tony didn’t like to be touched so often did his own makeup application and removal, but the back of his neck had been too intricate a solo job this time.

Chuckling, his loud, booming voice carrying through the set, Thor clapped his brother on the shoulder, “aye! Blood is messy, is it not?”

“Food dye and cornstarch,” Bruce murmured with a shrug. “Washes out with a shower.” That earned a deep glare and soft growl from Tony.

“Interviews, people! Get cleaned up!” Executive producer, Nick Fury, called out. “Laufeyson and Barnes are first!”

Bucky snickered. “Really?” He crossed his arms, letting a PA place a blanket around his soaked frame. “TJ needs more clean up that most, Nick! Why don’t you send the reporters to the buffet and let us all get showers real quick? Twenty minutes for the group and fifty for Tony the diva?”

“Make twenty minutes fifteen!” Nick called and then turned to herd the group of reporters away to the buffet.

“Fifty?” Tony nodded, “I can do fifty,” he called, heading for his trailer.

**************

Looking over at the two actors for the very highly anticipated, _‘Get a Clue’_ film, the interviewer, a young journalist by the name of Peter Parker, grinned as TJ Barnes and Loki Laufeyson sat in their chairs, freshly showered and in normal clothing once more. “Wow!” Peter smiled at both of them, “thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with me, TJ, Loki. So, you just finished filming?”

Loki, dressed in blue jeans and a light grey t-shirt, nodded, running a hand through his damp black curls. “Yes, it’s now in post production.”

Nodding, Peter turned his brown eyes to focus on Loki for a moment, “you’ve been in the film industry for a while. But, this is your first film under director Coulson, right?”

“Yes, it is.” Loki smiled, glancing at TJ then back to the reporter. “He’s new to Fury’s staff and it was . . . fun?” He looked at TJ again. “Fun, right?”

Letting out a soft chuckle, TJ nodding, running his fingers through his damp curls, “yeah, it was a lot of fun.”

“Well, congratulations on your theatrical debut, TJ! That’s amazing! And to get your start on such a big production with big names such as Loki Laufeyson. Were you nervous?” Peter turned his eyes to look at TJ.

Flushing a bit, TJ laughed again and nodded, “yeah, I knew there were a lot of big names . . . I’m just honored that Coulson took a chance on me.”

“He could hardly avoid you,” Loki chuckled, crossing his leg over his knee. “Your brother was pushing pretty hard to get his real brother to be able to play his brother on this film.” Loki leaned closer to Peter, “in case you didn’t realize yet, TJ and Bucky play brothers in this film. Should I have said spoiler?” He looked to TJ, grinning, then back to Peter.

“Nah, I think that one is safe,” Peter chuckled and said, “wow, so both of you act alongside your older brothers? What is that like?”

“I don’t know about you,” TJ looked at Loki, a smile on his face, “but, I loved working with Bucky. He helped me so I didn’t get lost. Showed me the ropes as it were.”

Throwing his head back in a laugh, the ice-green eyed actor said, “and I was able to help keep Thor on track. As you already know, Peter, Thor’s like a big golden retriever. He’ll come to the set all eager and knowing his lines then he’ll be like _‘Aye, and we must search the . . . oh! Shiny thing!_ ’ and he’s off and running after some ball or that _Ragdoll_ or something.” Loki grinned.

Peter laughed and nodded, “yeah, I’ve interviewed him a few times. He often goes on some funny tangent,” the brunet looked between the two actors and asked, “so, Loki, you’ve done many films before but is this your first Thriller?”

“Well,” Loki chuckled lightly, “I suppose it is. I’ve done a couple of romances, but mainly, I do action.”

Perking up slightly, Peter looked between TJ and Loki, “and there’s a rumor that you two might be working together again soon? Any word on that?”

Loki glanced at TJ and said, “well, yes? Possibly? We’ve been looking at a couple of options.” Looking back to Peter, Loki said, “maybe another Coulson, even.”

“Oh? And will it be another thriller or maybe an action movie?” Peter pushed with a wide grin.

“Depends on what we narrow it down to,” Loki chuckled.

“Okay, okay, I won’t ask any more,” Peter relented and then looked at TJ, “so, you had a chance to work with a lot of big names. Out of them all, who would you like to work with again?”

“Oh, boy, trying to get me in trouble,” TJ chuckled, shaking his head, “I mean, everyone is amazing and I’d like to work with them all again. But,” the brunet looked over at Loki and flushed slightly, “I think I’d really like to work with you again.”

Smiling, Loki bowed his head just a bit. “I’d like that.” He blinked and looked at Peter and flushed softly. “We had good screen chemistry.”

Peter looked between the two actors and beamed, “well, I certainly cannot wait for the movie to come out. Thank you guys again.” Peter stood and offered a hand to both actors.

Loki stood and shook Peter’s hand, smiling widely. “Thank you, Peter.”

TJ followed suit, standing and shaking Peter’s hand as well, “thank you, Peter. It was nice talking to you.”

Loki gestured with his hand for TJ to proceed him, laying his hand on the small of TJ’s back as they left.

The cameraman turned to Peter after the two actors left and grinned. “Romance, maybe?”

“I’m thinking so,” Peter laughed and gave the camera a wink as the next two actors were ushered inside. Peter greeted them with the same excitement as TJ and Loki, “hello, Steve and Bucky! Thank you so much for coming!”

Bucky leaned over to shake Peter’s hand, grinning. “Hello, Peter. Thanks for taking time to talk to us poor working slobs.” He winked and settled down in the chair TJ had formerly been in. Gesturing to his coworker, Bucky said, “and you know Steve, right?” Bucky grinned wider since this would be the fourth or fifth time the reporter had spoken to Steve.

“Oh, yes, I know Steve,” Peter laughed, shaking Steve’s hand and then leaning back in his chair once more. “So, congrats guys on wrapping up filming!”

Laughing, Bucky said, “wait? We’re done? Has it come out yet?” He looked at the camera, “I want to see it! Popcorn and a big soda . . .” He grinned at Peter.

Steve shook his head, laughing, “thank you, Peter. We had a blast filming.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Peter asked, looking at the two men, “you guys play characters with your own names? That must’ve been weird!”

“Well, I asked to be Steve, but Nick wouldn’t go for it.” Bucky shrugged. “At least I didn’t have to be Clint. Did you see the food he had to eat?” The brunet made a face, pale blue eyes dancing.

“Yeah, he was _constantly_ eating,” Steve agreed with a nod, “think he came close to puking a few times.”

“I know _I_ did,” Bucky agreed.

“So,” Peter smiled, turning his eyes on Bucky, “you got to work with your little brother on his first film. What was that like?”

Bucky laughed, “it was great! TJ’s been in the top acting schools and was ready to go right out of the gate. It was fun having him on the set, too. If you didn’t know, TJ’s a real laugh, great sense of humor and always brightens the set.”

“And the characters you guys play? Any similarities between yourself and them? Aside from the names of course,” Peter laughed.

Snickering, sharing an amused look with Steve, Bucky said, “well, we can’t tell you much without giving away some things, but I can tell you that TJ was nothing like his character. He spent like half the film whimpering at this or that and TJ’s a pretty chill guy. He’s hardly scared of anything. Even spiders. Loki hates spiders and TJ has a pet tarantula. He brought it to the set to show it off and we hear this high pitched screech! Loki’s up on a table screaming ‘get it away! Away!’. Man, none of us even knew he hated spiders so bad.” Bucky shook his head, laughing heartily.

“TJ sounds like a riot,” Peter laughed, looking over at Steve as the blond spoke up.

“Yeah, and now there may or may not be a pet tarantula looking for a new home,” Steve chuckled.

Bucky snickered again and exchanged another amused look with Steve.

“I mean, everyone had such a fun time filming together. I know it sounds cliche but it really was like a family,” Steve added, glancing over at Bucky.

“And we got a new baby brother,” Bucky chuckled, draping an arm around Steve and burying his face in the blond’s strong shoulder. “Baby boot TJ!”

Peter grinned, looking between the two men with a knowing smile, “so, Bucky, Steve, both of you have done a few thrillers in your time as actors but how is this one different?”

“Well, see, this movie is all about Tony’s birthday party during a big storm,” Bucky sat forward, “and then the power goes freaky and people start . . . well, dying? And the house is trying to kill us all! It’s the creepiest ghost film I’ve ever done!” Pausing, sitting up, Bucky frowned and shook his head, “oh, wait . . . that was my dream last night. Sorry,” he looked at Peter. “Take that back. I have no idea what this film was about. I haven’t seen it yet.”

“There’s definitely enough to keep the viewers on the edge of their seats the whole time, trying to figure things out,” Steve said with a laugh, glancing over at Bucky. 

Laughing, Bucky put his left hand on Steve’s bicep, a glimmer of platinum on his ring finger. “Yeah, actually, this one’s dialogue was a bit confusing but I think we made it work. It stretched me as an actor to places I’ve never gone before.”

Not saying anything about the ring on Bucky’s finger, Peter leaned forward and asked, “don’t suppose we’ll get any more clarification on that?”

Looking thoughtful, Bucky nodded slowly and said, “well, I had to pretend I actually _like_ my brother, for one?”

“Oh, c’mon, Buck,” Steve chuckled, gently nudging the brunet’s shoulder, “you adore TJ.”

“Loki said something about you bugging Coulson to cast TJ in a part with you?” Peter asked, meeting Bucky’s eyes.

Jaw dropping, eyes widening, Bucky gasped in feigned shock. “Loki _told_? How dare he! I am never sharing with him in a sleepover again!” He grinned. “Actually, yeah, they wanted to have a couple sets of brothers for characters, and I suggested they let my real brother take a crack at it. I think TJ suitably impressed them because his character was _nothing_ like him, and yet he did wonderful!”

“Yeah, it was like seeing a different person,” Steve agreed with a nod, “he did great though.”

“And Loki’s dialogue?” Bucky snickered, “I don’t know which writer came up with some of his lines, but he really did try to make them work. It’ll be an amusing movie. A must see.”

“What was wrong with Loki’s lines?” Peter asked with a smile.

“Well, you already know that Loki’s certifiable? I mean, a certified genius with like three degrees and knows a bazillion languages and stuff, but some of his lines were so . . . teenager?” Bucky looked at Steve. “Right? Teenager?”

“Yeah, a little off from his normal characters but still very good,” Steve laughed.

“I mean, Thor would have handled his character beautifully! Maybe Loki shoulda switched with Nat?” Bucky started getting up, “that’s it. I’m gonna tell Coulson to reshoot the entire eight months and switch everyone into different roles!” He pretended to head for the door.

“And there you have it,” Peter laughed as Bucky circled back around and sat down. “That’s actually our time,” the reporter smiled at Bucky and Steve, “thank you guys so much!”

Bucky shook Peter’s hand. “No problem. Had fun. Hey, maybe you could try out for a walk on one of these days?” He winked. “Could be a blast.” Bucky tapped Steve’s shoulder, “c’mon, big, strong, and silent. Dinner!”

“Yeah, I’m starving,” Steve chuckled and shook Peter’s hand, following Bucky out of the room.

The cameraman leaned on the steady tripod of his camera and grinned. “That ring’s new, huh?”

“Very new,” Peter nodded, glancing over in the direction of Steve and Bucky and then back over as the next actors were brought in. “Natasha and Clint Romanov-Barton! Welcome!”

Clint smiled and pulled out Natasha’s chair for her, seating her then moving over to his own seat. He directed his attention to Peter, blue-grey eyes watchful. “Peter Parker, hello,” Clint finally said, his voice soft.

“Congratulations on finishing filming,” Peter started off with, smiling at Clint and Natasha.

“Thank you. It was a lot of fun shooting with these guys that we’ve known for years but haven’t gotten a chance to actually work with,” Natasha smiled.

Clint nodded, eyes shooting over to Natasha as if waiting to see if she would say more then back to Peter. “I enjoy working with my friends. We have a good time and understand when someone’s having an off day. Relaxed atmosphere.”

“So, both of you mainly stick with action films. Why decide to do a thriller?” Peter asked.

Clint blinked slowly then said, “they wouldn’t make it a romance? I’ve been asking to do a romance for years, but this was what they came up with.” He smiled and glanced to Natasha.

“Well, it’s kinda romantic? I guess?” Natasha laughed, looking at Clint and then at Peter.

Clint looked back at Peter, staring intently at the young reporter.

“What was it like working with your wife,” Peter asked looking at Clint and then looked to Natasha, “or husband for that matter?”

“Well,” Clint answered, sounding serious and thoughtful, “since my husband wasn’t on the set, I had to put up with my wife?” It was rare for Clint to get playful in an interview, though on some occasions it happened if he’d had a very good filming. “And I’d do it again next time my husband’s out of town. Just so’s he doesn’t know.” He smiled at his wife, eyes dancing.

Shaking her head, letting out a laugh, Natasha nodded, “it was great since Clint and I don’t get the chance to work together very often.” Clint looked back to Peter, nodding.

Peter laughed and continued, “what did you like most about your characters?”

“The messy explosion under the boat,” Clint said. Then, blinking and grinning, Clint said, “oops, upcoming script, Sorry. Actually, I didn’t like my character. He was food obsessed. Nothing against people who need to eat all the time, but I think he poorly represented that demographic. It was like they said, _‘oh, diabetic, let’s just make him a fat slob who constantly eats.’_ You know? I must’ve gained ten pounds on the set alone!”

Making a face, Natasha nodded, “yeah, his character is kinda . . . off?” She laughed and continued, “but, I’m sure in the final product they’ll make it work.”

“No,” Clint shook his head, watching Natasha, “I think the writing was amateurish. Loki sounded stilted and confused. And he wasn’t consistent. That wasn’t Loki’s fault, but his character was constantly off. And TJ? That poor guy had the most die-away character I’ve ever seen. I think it was written for a woman, which would have insulted all of our female viewers!” Clint looked back at Peter. “The script sucked, the writing was atrocious. But the staff were to die for.”

“Yeah, Bucky said something about TJ’s character being nothing like his real life personality,” Peter said with a nod.

“Exactly. TJ’s a pretty stand-up kind of guy. He’s got few hangups and he’s got no squeamish fears. The guys owns a freakin’ tarantula! How cool is that? But his character spends half the movie whimpering, whining, or vomiting. Makes you wanna strangle his ass.”

Natasha let out a snort and shook her head. At the sound, Clint snapped his head around to stare intently at his wife. Looking over, Natasha shrugged and said, “but, he pulled it off. Shows off his skills.” CLitn looked back at Peter.

Nodding, Peter asked, “if you two could work with any of the cast members again, who would it be?”

Clint nodded and looked to Natasha to answer first.

“Well,” Natasha drawled, looking at Clint and then back to Peter, “everyone did great. I think it’d be fun to work with Bucky again. I hadn’t gotten the chance to. We’ve been friends but never in a film together.”

Clint looked back at Peter. “Well, I enjoyed playing with all of them. But I’d have to say, there's this really hot redhead that was out of it after maybe ten minutes? I wanna get another chance at her.” Flushing a little, Clint said, “or maybe work with my lovely wife?”

Laughing, Natasha looked over at Clint.

Clint added, “I mean, if Pepper’s not into acting another time with me?”

Peter laughed and said, “well, thank you guys so much for joining me today!” He stood and shook both Natasha’s and Clint’s hands.

Clint stood and shook Pepter’s hand then pulled out Natasha’s chair for her. He leaned over and, trying but failing to whisper, said, “my aids cut out halfway through. I hope I didn’t mess it up?”

“You might have made our writer a little mad,” Natasha laughed softly, leading Clint out.

Snorting, Clint said, “good, maybe next time he won’t let his twelve year old daughter write the script.”

Peter looked at the screen and made a surprised face, not saying anything.

Snickering, the cameraman whispered, “hey, Pete, the three bachelors are here.”

“Cool,” Peter nodded, watching as Thor, Tony, and Bruce all walked in. He shook both Thor’s and Bruce’s hands but knew not to shake Tony’s. “Hey, guys! Congrats on the wrap up!”

Tony sat down and crossed one leg over the other, stiffly smiling at Peter. He wasn’t fond of interviews, though he loved spontaneous attention. In fact, most reporters dreaded interviewing Tony Stark. Bruce, on the other hand, seemed relaxed, though his eyes constantly searched the exists and crew. He had survived a set explosion several months before and this film had been his big comeback after getting out of the hospital. Thor beamed merrily at the reporter, much like his brother’s description of a golden retriever.

“Thank you, friend!” Thor grinned, looking at Peter and then at the other two actors.

Tony nodded, “beautiful house, beautiful cast, great props. Couldn’t ask for a whole lot more for a first thriller.”

“I’ve heard some not so great things about the script,” Peter stated.

Tony snickered and Bruce put his head in one hand with a groan. Tony shook his head, “maybe you could see the pre-showing and then get back to me on that question? You know actors are partial to specific types of characters. When we get cast differently, we whine.”

“So, you liked your character?” Peter asked Tony.

“Not at all,” Tony said and switched which leg was on the other. “I despised my character. Hated ever knowing the guy. He was arrogant, selfish, self-centered, and too rich for his own good. I’d drown him if I knew him.” Tony sounded quite serious.

“I enjoyed my character!” Thor grinned.

Lifting his face, Bruce added, “don’t let Tony fool you, Peter. He adored playing the rich host of a huge party. He’s just grumpy because he wasn’t cast in one of the three leads.”

Turning to look at Bruce with a raised eyebrow, Tony sounded hauty as he said, “one does not need a lead role if one has a good supporting character to portray. Besides, I didn’t want one of those roles. Too much touching.”

Thor almost patted Tony’s shoulder but thought better of it and turned to look at Peter again, “everyone did very well with what they were given. Great atmosphere.” 

“Maybe next time the special effects guys will actually let me play, too, instead of snubbing me as _‘just an actor’_ ,” Tony complained.

Bruce looked up, “they would have been fine if you hadn’t tried to fry two sets of computer banks, Tony. They _work_ with those.”

“And I offered to buy them replacements!” Tony defended himself.

“But,” Bruce argued back, “the replacements wouldn’t have been there quick enough for them to use.”

“So,” Peter chuckled, trying to get the actors back on track, “you guys worked with some other pretty big names. Anyone you’d like to work with again?”

“TJ,” Tony said, without even thinking.

Nodding, Bruce said, “Pepper . . . and TJ.”

“Young TJ was quite fun to work with,” Thor agreed with a nod.

“And that spider? My God,” Tony started laughing. “I’ve never heard Loki scream like that before! Actually, I’ve never heard anyone scream like that before.” Tony grinned.

“It was the highlight of these last few months!” Thor laughed, very happy.

“When that spider _accidentally_ escaped,” Tony chuckled. “He wouldn’t come out of his trailer for two hours until we sent him text pictures that it had actually been caught!”

“I have heard many people compliment TJ’s performance. Were you guys surprised given it was his first theatrical film?” Peter asked.

“Not at all,” Tony said. “TJ’s from a long line of actors and comes from the best schooling. He got to play the whiniest, most annoying character ever created. If he couldn’t pull that off, I’d have been worried.”

Shaking his head, Bruce said, “I liked how TJ worked with the character. He gave it depth. You understood _why_ the character was so traumatized. It was a suspense thriller after all.”

“So, you guys played characters that have your same names? What was that like?” Peter questioned.

Tony suddenly leaned forward, both feet on the floor. “Refreshing. Whenever someone called my name, I knew who they were looking for.”

Bruce shook his head, “I didn’t like it so much. I couldn’t tell if they were calling Bruce the actor or Bruce the character.”

“Aye, I will agree with Bruce. I’d prefer not to use my name again in a film,” Thor nodded.

Tony sighed and rolled his eyes. “But Nick is famous for it. He always changes all the names in any script to those of the actors. We’ve all had to do it before and, if we continue to work for _Fury Productions_ , we’ll do it until we die.” Tony looked at Peter. “It’s his way of being able to call the actor or character and know he’ll get precisely who he wants. Convenience.”

“Well, I could see how it’d be hard to use your real names in a film,” Peter nodded.

“Did you know that when Freddie Prinze Junior played Fred in _Scooby Doo_ , and the actress playing Velma - - Belinda? Called him Freddie, he had to do a double take because he had to figure out if she was trying to talk to him or if the character was talking to the other character? Turned out it was Velma talking to Fred. That’s obnoxious for an actor to try to stay in the zone!” Bruce argued. Bruce and Tony were well known to fall into easy arguments all the time.

“Well,” Peter sighed softly, “that’s all the time we have. It was great talking with all of you!”

Bruce shook Peter’s hand and stood, grinning, then turned to argue more over the name question as Tony stood and walked out, Bruce following close on his heels.

“Nice talking to you, my friend!” Thor shook Peter’s hand and left with the other two.

The cameraman shook his head, “I think we’ll never get either of those guys to agree to an interview without the other. It’s the liveliest those two ever seem to get off set.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Peter nodded and then looked up at the last two actors were brought in, “Sam and Riley Wilson! Thank you for stopping by!”

Sam smiled and shook Peter’s hand. “Thank you, Peter. We’re happy to be here. Did you get to peek at any of the filming while waiting?” He sat down.

After shaking Riley’s hand, Peter shook his head and answered, “no, they were keeping whatever scene they were filming under tight wraps. No press.”

Nodding, Sam laughed. “I think you’re in for a treat. Did you manage to get preview seats?”

“Oh, yes, already secured,” Peter nodded and then looked at both of the men sitting in front of him, “so, both of you are veterans of the Thriller genre. What made this one different?”

“Bigger staff?” Sam looked at Riley then back to Peter, “and every single one are friends that go way back. It’s the very first time all of us have been in the same film, and having TJ was just icing on the cake!”

“Yeah, he was a lot of fun on set. Always made people laugh,” Riley commented with a nod.

“And that damn robot tarantula? I mean, he had Loki convinced it was a real spider!” Sam shook his head, laughing.

“Wait, the tarantula wasn’t real? I’ve heard a lot about it but not that it was fake!” Peter laughed.

Sam snickered, “yeah, he wasn’t allowed to bring live pets on the set. The cat, Mr. Fuzz, might eat it or something. So he got a robotic form of it. Really looked authentic.” Sam shrugged, “but Riley loves spiders as much as TJ and so when he went to inspect it, he caught on.” Sam grinned fondly at his husband. “And he told me, but it’s not like I told anyone else. No one wanted to get near it.”

“I have heard nothing but praise for TJ’s performance even if his character was _whiny_ as most people put it?” Peter asked with a wide grin.

“Whiny?” Sam laughed. “Nah, man, his character was the screamer chick from every thriller flick. That’s all. Nothing bad about that. Just looked different because a man played the part this time. Nick likes to shake things up, you know? Get the audience out of their stagnant social bubble.”

Nodding, Peter looked at each actor and then asked, “so, what was it like to act in a film with your husband?”

Sam smiled and turned to Riley, taking his hand and lifting it for a kiss across the knuckles. “First time I got to work with my husband. Loved it. Learned a lot. You know we went to different performing arts schools, right?” He glanced at Peter.

“Yeah, it was a blast. I’d work with Sam again and again if I was able,” Riley grinned.

Leaning forward, Sam asked, “can I give a spoiler?”

“Spoiler away!” Peter grinned, leaning forward as well.

Nodding, Sam kissed Riley’s hand again, “I got to play Riley’s new husband!” He beamed, the gap in his top teeth showing, making him look rakish and appealing in a boy-next-door way.

“It brought us back to our roots,” Riley laughed, nodding, “like I said, it was great. I know a lot of people complained about the writing but I didn’t think it was _that_ bad.”

“I think the writers maybe had a bad line or two, but it was great,” Sam agreed. “At least, my character acted like a reasonable, well informed man. Didn’t your’s, Riley?” He turned to his husband again.

“Yeah, both of our characters were probably the most sane of the group,” Riley nodded with a wide grin.

“I think Loki was a bit grumpy because he didn’t get to play an intellectual for once. He wasn’t _Sherlock Holmes_ or anything,” Sam chuckled.

“And I heard Clint eats a lot?” Peter laughed, watching both men.

“Yeah, his character has a major problem with low blood sugar and eats when he gets overwhelmed or depressed or emotional. So, you see Clint’s character eating a lot on screen. Actually,” Sam shook his head, “he mainly just carries food around all the time. You only get to see him eat maybe once or twice, but we had to do so many takes. And Clint wasn’t faking, he’d actually swallow the food for every take.” Sam shrugged, “you know, a method actor. As bad as Bucky for stunt acting. He always goes for the realism so takes the hits and lets himself bruise. We’re always having to remind doubles and extras to pull their punches or they’re seriously mess up Bucky.” Sam again looked at Riley. “I think TJ showed a bit of that heavy dedication, too, didn’t he?”

“Oh yeah,” Riley nodded, “the poor kid vomited for like an hour.”

“Sounds painful!” Peter’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, they had a real medical standing just off the set to give him liquids and check his vitals. Coulson had to yell at him to stop it, so Nick actually rewrote a part of it to make it _dry heaves_ instead.” Sam shook his head. “Sometimes such an intense actor can be brutally scary, you know? They put their body through hell for a part!”

“Yeah, in that scene when he’s all sweaty and gross looking? That’s the real deal,” Riley commented, shaking his head.

“So, which actor would you like to work with in any future films?” Peter asked with a grin.

“Riley Wilson,” Sam said without hesitation. “I really loved the chance to work with my husband, you know? Usually our shooting schedules take us so far away from one another. I loved the extra time with him.”

“Yeah, I gotta say Sam,” Riley chuckled, leaning over to brush his lips against Sam’s.

Sam smiled and briefly kissed back, mindful that they weren’t alone. He pulled back, whispering, “tonight, baby. No shooting schedule tomorrow.”

“Well, actually, that’s our time,” Peter grinned, standing up to shake both actor’s hands.

Sam shook back and stood, arm going behind his husband’s to put a hand on the small of Riley’s back. “Thank you, Peter. See you on the red carpet for opening night?”

“Of course, I’ll see you there,” Peter nodded, shaking Riley’s hand and watching them leave.

Looking back at the camera, Peter grinned, “well, I’m excited for the movie. Catch _‘Get a Clue’_ in theaters near you next Summer!”

The cameraman nodded and turned off the camera, “And _that’s_ a wrap. So, Pete, whatcha think?”

“Think of what?” Peter asked.

“The bits we’ve heard of the film? The info about TJ? Bucky’s ring? The spider? Anything?” Pietro stepped from behind the camera to sink onto one of the interview chairs.

“Well, the movie sounds interesting for sure. At least to see what they were talking about with the script,” Peter said.

Pietro laughed and shook his head. “I think the movie will be fine. Clint’s a snob when it comes to character portrayal of people with disabilities, so he won’t approve of any script. And Tony always wants his own star to shine. Loki’s into Shakespearean acting, so thrillers aren’t his forte.”

“Either way, I’m looking forward to it,” Peter said, picking up his things, “c’mon, let’s go see what they have at the buffet.”


End file.
